Hyperion Rising
by EvaCybele
Summary: What if Ellone had succeeded in changing the past, and Squall had grown up with Laguna in Esthar? What would happen to the world without its Legendary SeeD - who would step in and fill the void? Seifer-centric AU; currently Seifer/Rinoa, future Seifer/Quistis and Squall/Rinoa.
1. Force Your Way

Ellone tucked the blanket around Laguna's legs and dropped a soft kiss on his cheek. He was getting old now, and his leg didn't just bother him when he was nervous. But his eyes were still the same bright, mischievious green that she remembered from her childhood. He smiled at her, rather ruefully, she thought. "Presidents aren't supposed to go around taking care of washed-up old grandpas, Elle."

She smiled back at him and settled into her own chair. "Esthar can wait for a while. I want to spend some time with you, Uncle Laguna. Besides, you're not a grandpa, yet."

The former president snorted. "Not for lack of trying on Rinoa's part, though, I'll bet." He sighed. "Squall...wonder what he's doing right now."

Ellone frowned and glanced to the side. Her little brother and adopted uncle had never gotten along well. Even with Rinoa working at Squall's emotional barriers over the years, the pain of abandonment still came between father and son. _It's my fault... If Uncle Laguna hadn't left Winhill to get me back from Adel, he would have been with Raine when Squall was born..._ She'd tried to send Squall back to make that happen, but it hadn't worked. "Do you ever wish that you'd stayed in Winhill, with Raine?"

"Elle, if I had just let the Estharians take you, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself – and Raine would have hated me for it. I would have lost both of you."

"But you did lose both of us, and Squall, too." Ellone pulled her knees up to her chin and stared out the window. She wouldn't lie, that bothered her a little, as well. She had never grown to hate Laguna like Squall had, but she had missed him a lot, for a very long time.

"And that, Elle, is the only thing I regret. I thought the two of you would be safer with Edea than in a country recovering from civil war, especially with Odine wanting to get you back in his labs. I didn't realize that waiting a few years would put you both out of my reach like that, force you into hiding and Squall into becoming a soldier... If I could do anything to change that decision, I would."

The young president of Esthar bit her lip. _You can't change the past. But what if I sent someone back into their own body? Could they influence their own decisions? Squall kept Rinoa from giving up on life... Could Uncle Laguna keep his younger self from giving us up? We could finally be a real family._ "We could try, you know. I could send you back... They say you can't change the past, but I don't see the harm in trying." She was filled with the same reckless determination that she'd felt when she'd laid eyes on Squall in that infirmary after all those years. Her family should be together – Elle and Uncle Laguna and Squall.

Laguna glanced up, naked hope flashing in his eyes. "You think we could do it?"

Elle smiled and reached out with her mind. "Only one way to find out."

_I cannot believe this shit. Stuck taking orders from some random asshole from Trabia, with Chickenwuss Dincht for a partner and Trepe watching me like a hawk. This field exam is going to suck, just like the last three have._ Seifer sighed and leaned against the wall in Dollet's central square, hand curling around Hyperion's handle. There was no getting around it – standby was fucking boring.

A bell tolled in the distance, shattering the silence that had enveloped the area for the last hour or two. The stupid stray that had been hanging around whimpered, and the squad captain (Seifer had promptly forgotten his name) scowled and kicked at the dog, trying to shoo him away. He ran to the square's northern exit, howling in indignation. Seifer rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because _that_ helped."

Dincht shushed him – what were they, five? – and pulled the captain down into a crouch next to him as several Galbadian soldiers snuck through the square, off to the north. The blond idiot followed the road with his eyes, squinting and screwing his face into weird expressions. It looked painful – Seifer guessed that that was his thinking face. Obviously he didn't do it often. "Where the hell they goin'? What's _up_ there?"

Their captain shrugged. "None of our concern. We were ordered to hold the central square, and that's what we're going to do."

Seifer clenched one fist, hard. _If I have to stay here for a minute longer, somebody's losing a body part. A vital one._ He took a deep breath and concentrated on not killing someone. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at the captain. "You saw the way they were acting. They needed to get up that mountain, without being seen. Whatever they're doing, it's important. Do you have any idea how many bonus points we'd score if we figured out what the Galbadians were doing here?"

The mousy brown-haired man blinked. The thought had clearly never crossed his mind. Dincht flailed around somewhere in Seifer's peripheral vision – he didn't bother to look over, keeping his gaze steady on his target. "Yeah, but this is an _exam_. If we disobey orders, we'll get in serious trouble!"

The captain glanced around, frowning. "I don't want to do that..."

Seifer saw his chance and seized it. "Then send me. That way the square is still protected, we can find out what's going on, and you won't be disobeying orders."

What's-his-name nodded, expression slowly becoming more confident. Seifer knew that he had pegged him correctly – the man was a follower, who would bow to any strong personality that came along. And no one had a stronger personality than Seifer Almasy. The next words out of the Squad B captain's mouth threw him a little, though. "Take Zell with you. It looks dangerous up there, with all those soldiers. This place should be fine." Seifer's eyes widened slightly and he opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut when the man amended his statement with "And that's an order, both of you." He sounded like he was mimicing some old action movie, all macho and fake bravado.

The blond man gritted his teeth and nodded. Some action with a tagalong was better than no action at all, that was for damn sure. He could hear Dincht bitching off to his left, but ignored it, and strode off to the north.

A few snake monsters and Galbadian soldiers obstructed his path. Hyperion shone like the sun in his hand, clearing the way forward with little effort. Chickenwuss was panting and yelling for him to slow down as he tried to catch up, making more noise than anyone that short should physically be able to, but Seifer didn't slow. He had a mission – a real one, not some stupid "guard this completely useless area" order – and nothing was going to get in his way.

The path curved abruptly along the edge of a cliff overlooking the tower that seemed to be the object of interest for the Galbadians. Seifer dropped to his stomach, watching the soldiers babble about generators and boosters. Zell crouched somewhere behind him. Seifer glanced back at him, a sharp look in his green eyes. "You better not start dragging me down, Chickenwuss. Anyone that gets between me and my dream gets left behind."

"...The hell are you talking about? Your _dream_?"

Seifer's lips just curled in a smirk. "You'll understand when you're older, shrimp." He pulled himself to his feet, taking off for the installation up ahead. He thought he heard a shrill feminine voice somewhere behind him, but ignored it. Dincht could handle one screechy girl, surely. _Though with the way I've seen him wolf down hot dogs, maybe I shouldn't be trusting him to know how to do _anything_ with a woman..._

He settled his gunblade on his shoulder and strode into the tower. Galbadians were everywhere, weapons set to the side as they worked at various access panels. Seifer conjured a small ball of fire in one hand and lobbed it at the nearest engineer while brandishing his gunblade in the other. "You guys have two choices: either try your hand at taking me on, or get the hell outta here. What's it gonna be?" He could feel his mouth pulled tight in a feral grin – never did he feel more alive than when faced with a challenge.

Unfortunately, several Galbadians took one look at their screaming, smoldering comrade and ran past him, out of the tower. A couple grabbed their guns and aimed at him with shaky hands, but Seifer cut them down with swift, well-placed slashes. The rest fled while he was mopping up what little resistance they gave. Seifer scowled and stomped over to the door. "Cowards!"

Zell stood just over the threshold, with some tiny brown-haired girl in a cadet's uniform. She flailed a hand in the air and yelled "HEEEY!" at him, but Seifer just turned and walked off. _Time to see what they're really doing here. _He made his way to the previously-guarded elevator and slammed the heel of his hand against the button. The small lift rose quickly past floors and floors of machinery, the walls shuddering as the long-abandoned tower came to life. Seifer made it to the roof at the same time that the satellite fanned itself open. A large man in the red Galdbadian commander uniform whirled away from the large control panel he was tinkering with.

"Hey! Who they hell are you? What...what happened to all the soldiers down below? Wedge! Deal with this twerp!" Seifer just smirked as the man's expected backup didn't appear. Instead, the lift behind him whirred and clunked. Dincht and the little brown-haired girl stepped off and flanked him, cutting off the man's escape route. _An idiot on one side, a loud woman on the other... This feels familiar. _Seifer briefly wished that his posse was here instead of the Chickenwuss and some girl he didn't even know, but he shrugged it off and lifted his gunblade, sighting down the blade as he pointed it at the commander.

The red-uniformed man rolled his shoulders and charged at the three SeeD cadets. The girl knocked him off balance with a well-timed fire spell, and Dincht lept forward, fists flying. The blond's punches didn't seem to be doing much against the commander's body armor, so Seifer grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pulled him aside, ignoring his yelp of protest. A lightly-armored trooper in blue ran up, so Seifer pushed Dincht towards him, and then turned his own attention to the commander.

Seifer half-dodged his opponent's next charge, landing a strike against the man's shoulder plating. Hyperion skidded across the metal, throwing sparks. The commander held his hands up to the sky, calling down a tiny violet lightning bolt that shuddered all the way through Seifer's large frame. He staggered backwards and shook off the pain. Out of the corner of his eye, Seifer caught a glimpse of Dincht and the girl handling the trooper with ease, as the man was stumbling and scorched in several places. Then he cast a fire spell on the ground at his feet, briefly cutting the cadets off from the central part of the tower. The commander and the trooper both retreated back towards the lift, and Seifer was just about to lunge forward when a gust of wind swirled out of nowhere. The Galbadians screamed as they were flung into the main tower structure.

A huge form descended from the air above. _What the fuck is that? _Seifer stared up at the bizarre creature, with its massive bat wings, beefy purple arms, and stinger. Dincht and the girl ran up next to him – apparently the wind had put the fire out – and took up battle stances. Seifer pulled himself up to his full height and smirked. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Come on, you ugly bastard!"

The thing - "It's an Elvoret! Earth and poison won't work on it!" – roared as if in challenge. Seifer charged at it, evading its heavy claw-swipes as he slashed at its lower body. Flames caught his sleeve, so Seifer flung off his uniform jacket, fleetingly glad that he hadn't worn his favorite grey trenchcoat, like he'd been tempted to. A lightning bolt struck the ground off to his right, but Seifer kept hacking at the stinger, shaving off small pieces of the armored carapace. Bright blue lines of magic streaked past his ear as someone drew something from the creature, and fire bloomed all along the thing's left side.

Seifer staggered a little as the air pressure around him shifted. He glanced up to see the Elvoret drawing in a huge breath, and barely managed to flatten himself to the floor before a miniature tornado buffeted him. He groaned and clenched the fingers of his left hand in the grating below him, fighting to not be swept away.

A small hand settled on the middle of his back as the pressure faded, and the cool, tingling sensation of a cure spell suffused his limbs. A pair of concerned green eyes met his for a moment, then the girl was dragging him back, away from the enemy. Seifer fought her half-heartedly, but was too groggy to stand on his own just yet, so he just watched as green orbs swirled around Dincht for a moment, and then disappeared as he slammed a palm forward. Superheated air blasted in his face as flames erupted in midair, coalescing into a brown-skinned, red-furred demon beast. Ifrit roared and flung a huge ball of fire and molten rock into the flying enemy. The Guardian Force shimmered back out of existence as the Elvoret crashed to the tower's floor, twitching and smoldering.

The young woman next to Seifer punched a hand into the air and whooped with triumph. He pulled out a potion and chugged it, eyeing her speculatively. "And you are?"

The girl turned a megawatt smile on him and started talking a mile a minute. Seifer instantly wanted to strangle her. "Selphie Tilmitt, Squad A! I have new orders! 'All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the shore!'"

Already extremely annoyed at having been shown up in a fight by the fucking _Chickenwuss_ of all people, Seifer snapped at her. "Withdraw! We've almost secured the damn place!"

Selphie stiffened and her smile faded somewhat. "Sorry. I'm just a messenger." She shrugged apologetically.

Zell piped up from somewhere off to the side. "No way do I wanna miss our ride home."

Seifer sighed. "1900 hours, right? That's...shit, 30 minutes. Let's get the hell outta here, then." He turned away and strode towards the lift, leaving the other two to follow in his wake.

Zell and Selphie were chattering about something – Seifer wasn't really paying attention – as they walked out of the communication tower. A god-awful screeching noise sounded above them, and all three SeeD cadets glanced up to see a weird, spider-like shadow on the top level of the tower. It skittered towards them and launched itself off the tower. The giant metal thing threw up a huge cloud of dust as it landed between them and the door they had just exited, and Seifer fell back, coughing.

Selphie flailed her arms at Dincht, who was getting ready to charge the thing. "What are you _doing_? That thing's made out of steel or something – you can't just run up to it and punch it! Use thunder, metallic enemies are usually weak to it." She shook her head and proceeded to take her own advice. Seifer straightened and unsheathed Hyperion, running at the mech and slicing the front panel open. He danced back and forth, out of the range of the pincer-like claws, as lightning bolts rained down on it. It wasn't long at all before the thing crumpled, but instead of falling silent, the internal workings began to whir and click loudly. A speaker proclaimed repairs at being twenty percent complete.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Dincht and the messenger girl both ran off, but Seifer hesitated. Running away wasn't very heroic, or honorable, or any of that other bullshit that knights usually did. The mech began to struggle back to its feet. _Fuck it, I'm not wasting my time with this._

The metal spider was hot on Seifer's heels as he ran back towards Dollet. It nearly caught him several times, like when it sprang over him on the bridge – thankfully he noticed and began to run back the other way, prompting it to try to cut him off again – but Seifer made it into the city without incident. He figured the thing would give up once he made his way into Dollet's tiny one-way streets, but the mech just walked along the walls of the buildings. _Have to give it credit for persistance, I guess._ Other SeeD cadets were spilling out into the streets in front of him, and he'd long since lost sight of Tilmitt and Dincht.

Seifer was nearly out of breath by the time his foot touched beach sand, but he was greeted with one of the most glorious sights he'd ever witnessed in his young life: Quistis Trepe, and a high-powered machine gun. He dove and rolled into the ship her gun was mounted on, turning to watch the annoying piece of shit get drilled with more holes than a Deling City prostitute. The hatch closed on the sight of the mech shuddering and finally dying for good as the ship peeled away from the shore.

Seifer slouched in the driver's seat of the Garden car he was driving, one arm resting on the frame of the opened window. It was sort of tempting to just drive into the distance, just him and his posse, no rules to break or authority to sneer at. Hard to do, though, on a tiny island. Someone'd find him eventually. Not to mention years of sitting in class and taking their stupid tests going to waste.

Raijin leaned forward from the back seat. "Did you guys get to see some real action today? 'Cause you said that last year's was some real boring guard duty, y'know?" He had this sort of eager, puppy-like look on his face that normally made Seifer feel important, but right now was just annoying. It reminded him of the fucking Chickenwuss, eating up everything Trepe had said on the way back from Dollet. It made him sort of uncomfortable to think that a member of his posse and the biggest idiot on the Garden campus might have more than a little bit in common.

Fujin turned and regarded Seifer with one blood-colored eye. She must have understood his mood – Fu was good for that sort of thing – because she smacked Raijin upside the head and yelled "QUIET!" Rai crumpled back into the back seat and whimpered (quietly) at the injustice of the world.

Seifer wordlessly turned the car towards Balamb Garden. _It all comes down to this, huh? Been taking the fucking field exam for four years now, only have one more chance before I hit twenty and they throw me out on my ass. What can they fail me on this time? I was a good little soldier, followed my captain's orders to the letter. I didn't punch the instructor, or accidentally set another cadet on fire, or any of the bullshit I pulled in the past. I was a model fucking citizen. And everyone knows I'm the best damn fighter in Garden, AND the only gunblade specialist. Old man Kramer's wanted to pass me before, I can tell, but he never does..._

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a harsh feminine voice yelling his name from about two feet away. Seifer jerked his head to the side and glared at Fujin. "WHAT, Fu?"

Raijin tentatively leaned forward again. "You just seemed to be worryin' about stuff, and me and Fu, we were thinkin' that that's not like you, y'know?"

The blond man straightened and shook his head as he pulled into the parking lot. Worrying wouldn't do him any good, and it made him look weak in front of his posse. "I'm good. Let's go see if we need to beat the shit out of anyone this year."

Raijin whooped as Seifer got out of the car, striding purposefully for the second floor. The cadets would all gather in the hallway, and squirm as the asshole instructors made them all wait on purpose. At least one person usually cracked – two years ago, some guy had thrown up on Seifer's shoes. He'd been the one on the receiving end of Seifer's rage that year, even though he'd been three years older.

As Seifer walked past the directory, he overheard Trepe and Xu debriefing the Headmaster. Apparently the Galbadians had been after the Communications Tower, and had pulled out after taking a beating from SeeD, but not before ordering Dollet to leave the tower alone. Seifer snorted in annoyance and turned to his posse. "We'd almost completely secured the tower when that withdraw order came through. We could have been heroes." _I guess messenger girl and the Chickenwuss deserve some of the credit. Frankly, I don't give a damn as long as they give me my due._

Trepe overheard him and turned that laser-blue gaze on him. Seifer had heard cadets say that she could fry T-Rexaurs with a look when pissed off, but he figured that as much of a pain in her ass as he'd been over the last few years, he would have been crisped to nothing by now if that was true. She actually looked somewhat pleased this time, though. Seifer wasn't sure if he should take that as a good sign or not.

She pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up on her nose. She thought they made her look intelligent and authoritative – Seifer thought they made her look like a trumped-up librarian. "Seifer. You do realize that you defied orders by leaving Squad B's designated area, right?"

The blond just smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Captain's orders, Instructor. What was I supposed to do?"

"From what your captain says, it was your idea to leave."

Seifer's smirk hardened a little bit. _Need to remember to find out his name, and add him to 'the list.' _"I merely suggested a course of action. It's not my responsibility if he acted on it or not."

Trepe inclined her head and smiled fractionally. "Get to the second floor, Seifer. Results are going to be read soon."

As soon as the elevator doors closed on them and they were out of ear shot, Raijin turned to his leader with a confused expression on his face. "What was up with her? She looked happy, but she was kind of chewing you out, y'know?"

Fujin nodded. "MESSAGE."

"Message? For Seifer? I don't get it."

Seifer tuned out their voices – and Raijin's yowl of pain when Fujin kicked him – and stepped out of the elevator. Fu was right. Trepe had been trying to tell him something. His lips turned up in a fierce grin. No way could they fail him this time.

When they entered the second floor hallway, it was the usual scene of anxious cadets waiting for their futures to be decided. Dincht was the worst of them, pacing the length of the hallway, muttering to himself. "We disobeyed orders...we are gonna be in so much trouble...man, how could this happen...?" Apparently Trepe hadn't taken the same initiative with him. Seifer smiled. _Let the idiot stew for a while. _Apparently the messenger girl was Trabian, since they always gathered elsewhere to wait for the results.

Seifer picked a wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. He briefly wished that he'd had time to change into his coat – he'd always hated the cadet uniform, hated being made to look the same as a bunch of mouth-breathing useless wastes of space. He was different from them. Stronger, smarter, _better_.

One of the red-robed instructors made his pondering way into the hallway. "Dincht. Almasy. Please proceed to the Headmaster's office on the third floor. That is all. Dismissed."

The Chickenwuss whooped and trotted off to the elevator, looking happier than Seifer had ever seen anyone. Raijin had a similar look on his face as he cheered, and Fujin was smiling faintly. Seifer just smirked and strolled out of the hallway, feeling eyes on his back and whispers following in his wake. All those asshole instructors who had always told him that he'd never make SeeD – too violent, too headstrong, too angry – could eat it. He'd finally made it. _One less obstacle between me and my dream._

There were three others lined up in Cid's office – Dincht, Tilmitt, and some random brown-haired guy that Seifer had never seen before. The Headmaster started in on some long-winded speech about the 'meaning of SeeD' or some bullshit, but the instructor with him cut him short. Cid then started handing out the pieces of paper that would mark where they would all stand in Garden's SeeD hierarchy. Seifer's fingers itched. The higher the ranking, the more likely he'd be to get his own command in whatever missions they sent him on.The old man was giving each person some sort of heartfelt advice or some shit, and it was taking him forever to get to the end of the line where Seifer stood.

Finally, it was his turn. Cid leaned in to say something about being glad that Garden finally had a gunblade specialist, but Seifer's eyes were glued to the paper in front of him. _Rank 10? Are they fucking serious? I deserve at least a 15... _Most of his scores were decent, and his Attack rating was excellent, but his marks in the Attitude section were incredibly low. He stifled his scowl. _At least I did better than Chickenwuss._ He had seen the spiky-haired blond's lips form the words "SeeD rank seven" when he'd been handed his own scores.

Pocketing the paper, Seifer turned on his heel and followed the other new SeeDs out. They had a speech to give to the kiddies, and then the big inauguration party. The four of them emerged into the hallway, to be met with applause – led by his posse, of course. He slipped his hands into his pockets and favored them all with his most winning smile. Once the failed cadets wandered off, Seifer grabbed Raijin by the shoulder. "Find out which SeeD dorm is my new room." The large man's face fell for a moment. No doubt he'd forgotten that Seifer would be moving out of the room they shared. Seifer, for his part, was mostly just glad that he'd have some peace and quiet for a change. Rai snored. Loudly. He and Fujin went off in search of the person in charge of housing.

Seifer strolled back to his old room, glancing around. Most of his things were packed up, just like they'd been after every other field exam, but for the first time, it hadn't been a waste of time. He stared at the SeeD uniform on his bed for a minute. The cadet uniform was one thing, it had been given to him. Even the non-combatant students wore it. There was no glory to be found in wearing it. The SeeD uniform was a different beast altogether. He'd _earned_ this, earned the right to stand with Garden's elite fighting force – and earned the right to prove himself to be stronger, smarter, and better than all of them, too.

He shucked his old uniform (maybe he'd burn it, like the jacket had been, seemed fitting) and pulled on the new one. It was kind of scratchy and needed to be washed, but it fit him like a glove, unlike the too-tight cadet uniform he'd worn up until then. Seifer made sure that he took his time getting ready – let Chickenwuss and the messenger girl give their speeches about what it was like to be a SeeD. He didn't really feel like inspiring the youth of tomorrow or any of that stupid shit.

What Seifer was interested in was SeeD ball. There was a certain someone who had promised to be there, and he'd bet everything on passing the exam this year. He was relieved that he wasn't going to look like a total failure in front of her. The door to the dorm room slammed open and then closed, and Seifer heard a whistle behind him.

"Lookin' good, Seifer! Rin won't know what hit her, y'know?" Raijin was grinning like an idiot, and Fujin nodded.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Seifer smirked at his posse. "Thanks. Though I'd rather her know _exactly_ who 'hit' her, if you catch my drift. You guys find my new room?"

Raijin nodded. "Yeah, no sweat, y'know? Here." He handed Seifer a small piece of paper with the new room number on it.

Seifer gave the number a cursory glance before pocketing it. "Go ahead and move my stuff to my new room while I'm at the party. I don't trust those faculty guys to not rifle through things that they have no business with." He sauntered out the door, tossing his hand up in a lazy wave as he left. Fu and Rai might not be the brightest bulbs in the box, but they were loyal, and they followed orders. The SeeD program had taught him to value those things in others – they just wouldn't be getting it from him.


	2. Waltz for the Moon

Chapter 2

The second-floor ballroom was beautiful, lit by wall sconces and the pale light of the moon. Seifer didn't pay it much attention, except to be proud that all that extravagance was in his honor – well, and the other new SeeDs, too, but he was at least partly responsible for both Tilmitt and Dincht, and really, who cares about that other guy. He was too busy searching the crowded room for one person in particular, and after a moment, he found her.

Rinoa Heartilly's mother had been some kind of singer, famed for her beauty as much as her voice. Her daughter had inherited her looks – dark hair and eyes, pale skin, petite and slender with just the right amount of curves. Seifer took a moment to admire a few of those curves as she stood in the middle of the dance floor, staring at the sky through the glass-domed ceiling. Most of the women had opted for ballgowns or cleavage-baring cocktail dresses. Rinoa stood out from the rest in her clingy white dress that was demure, but still sexy. Seifer smirked and strode towards her, a charming smile already in place. She was still focused on the sky when he placed a hand against the small of her back and leaned in close.

"You're the best-looking girl here."

She jumped and jerked her head around, dark eyes wide and startled. "Seifer! You scared me."

The blond man just grinned at her in response.

Rinoa turned around and took a step back, resting her hands on her hips. A tiny smile twitched the edge of her lips as she fought to keep a stern look on her face. "And you meant to, didn't you, you big meanie?"

Seifer made his eyes widen and tried for his very best "who, me?" look. "That really hurts my feelings, Rin. Haven't seen you in months, and the first thing you do is accuse me of something heinous like this?" He sighed and shook his head.

She took one look at his face and dissolved into giggles. "It's good to see you, Seifer. I've missed you." She stepped in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, planting a light kiss on his cheek. She went to step away, but Seifer gripped her waist firmly.

"You're going to dance with me."

"Oh, am I now?" She tossed her hair and shot him an imperious look. All feigned, of course. Rinoa was a girl, and all girls loved to dance. It was the only reason that Seifer had actually paid attention during the SeeD-required dance lessons. The guy who knew how to dance got a lot more girls than the wallflower brooding in the corner.

The next song started up, a waltz, and Seifer slid one hand into Rinoa's, beginning the steps of the dance. She followed his lead, smiling the whole time. He watched as the color rose in her cheeks while they danced. _She's mine tonight, no question._ They parted and rejoined, surrounded by people but alone. They ended the dance as close together as they'd begun, fireworks exploding above their heads. Rinoa tilted her head back to admire the lights.

Seifer glanced up – they were just normal fireworks, what was so fascinating about them? - and then let go of Rinoa's waist, gently tugging her by the hand towards the balcony. They stepped out of the light and noise of the ballroom into the cool spring night.

The dark-haired woman raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I thought you were going to introduce me to Cid."

Seifer leaned against the railing of the balcony and waved her over. "I will. Just wanted to spend some time with you first."

Rinoa rolled her eyes and laughed, but walked over all the same, linking her fingers with his. The look she shot him was saucy. "I didn't realize being a SeeD came with such a nice uniform."

"What, you think its the _uniform_? This thing doesn't look this good on everybody, I assure you."

She smacked him on the arm and laughed again, stretching her arms out in front of her. "Do you think Cid will help me?"

Seifer nodded, all the confidence in the world in his voice. "Of course. The old man always gets a little tipsy at these things. Shouldn't be hard to convince him, especially since I'm the hero of the day."

Rin smiled at him, admiration in her eyes. Seifer loved that combination in her – fire and passion mixed with innocence and naivety, all wrapped up in a lovely package, and topped with the bow of her needing him. She was no more a sorceress than he was, and only a princess to those idiots in the Owls, but when he was with her, he felt a little bit knightly. It was almost enough to satisfy him, but not quite. Still, he'd enjoyed the summer he'd spent with her, and wasn't opposed to the idea of seeing her for a while longer, until he could fulfill his dream.

Seifer turned and slid one hand along her jawline, turning her face towards him. She blinked up at him and smiled, so he took that as an invitation to press his lips softly against hers. Her hands came to rest against his chest and she sighed and leaned into him, lips parting. They kissed for a little while, until a completely mood-shattering voice cracked across his ears.

"Seifer Almasy! If you are going to seduce your date I would suggest _not_ doing it on school grounds, especially at a school function. You may be a SeeD, but you're still bound by the same rules of decorum as everyone else. Honestly, I expected more from the head of the Disciplinary Committee."

Seifer groaned out loud as he pulled back and shot a glare at the interrupting figure. "Instructor Trepe. Spoiling everyone's fun, as usual."

Rinoa smiled sheepishly at the offensive blonde woman. "I'm sorry about that – we were just getting ready to go back in."

Trepe raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm sure you were." She shook her head and waved them inside.

Seifer ran a hand through his hair and sighed, wrapping an arm around Rinoa's waist and walking them back into the ballroom. "Cid should have had enough time to hit the booze by now, I think." Sure enough, the Headmaster was gleefully chatting to two young SeeDs who clearly didn't know how to handle their boss being smashed. Seifer put on his best smile and clapped Cid on the shoulder. "Headmaster, I have someone I think you should meet."

The old man turned and, after a moment, focused on Rinoa. He beamed and shook her hand. "Why hello there, miss..."

"Heartilly, sir. Rinoa Heartilly." Rin smiled. The girl could charm her way past the most grizzled of soldiers – an inebriated Cid Kramer didn't stand a chance.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Heartilly. You know, you look just like my wife, when she was younger-"

"Cid, the lady has a favor to ask." If the man got into the groove, he'd just ramble forever, and Seifer had _plans_ for this evening.

Rin took the cue and jumped right in. "I lead a resistance faction in Timber, called the Owls, and we were wondering if we could contract some SeeDs to help us achieve our dreams of liberation." She delivered the line with such wide-eyed enthusiasm that it was impossible not to believe in her conviction. Rinoa was the kind of rebel that did it for idealism's sake, not because she had any personal stake in the matter – beyond pissing off her dear old dad, anyways. That kind of faith swayed people. The Forest Owls were around long before Rin joined up, but they'd only started picking up steam once their 'princess' started turning on the charm and attracting new (mostly male) recruits.

Seifer could see that Cid was falling for it, too. The old man was nodding along with everything Rin had to say, and eventually led the two of them up to his office to draw up a contract.

He handed it to Rinoa, and she scrunched up her nose as she read. The girl wasn't stupid, so Seifer figured it had to be in some sort of obscure contract-language that only lawyers were fluent in. One glance at the document confirmed his suspicions.

"Um, Headmaster Kramer, I don't really understand what this says."

Cid blinked owlishly at the paper, and then frowned. "Sorry about that. Force of habit." He scribbled something on a fresh sheet and handed it to her. "Here, you keep both of these."

Something written there made the woman glow with happiness, but Seifer didn't catch what it was. He didn't particularly care, either. The poor schmucks that Cid sent out on that mission were going to have their work cut out for them, that was for sure.

Seifer made sure to get both of them out of there before Cid could start in on the meaning of SeeD or whatever other bullshit he had stored in that crazy head of his. Rin was smiling so wide that she looked like she might break her face in half. She was half-dancing down the hallway, not even paying attention to where they were headed until Seifer caught her around the waist and pulled her to him.

Rinoa looked up at him, wide grin settling into a softer smile. She rested her hands on his shoulders and ran them down his arms.

Her joy had been infectious – Seifer was smiling now, too, warmer and more inviting than his usual smirks. He leaned down and kissed her, long and lingering and full of heat. It took a few seconds, but she melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Seifer took the opportunity to shift one hand to her hip, and run the other one up to cradle her cheek, grazing the side of one breast as he passed. She gasped and pulled away an inch, eyes dilated so that they looked black and bottomless.

He grinned. _Oh, I have _so_ got this. "_Let me show you my new room."

She stiffened a little in his arms, and bit her bottom lip. "It's late, Seifer. I should go – Zone and Watts are waiting for me in the parking lot, they'll worry if I'm late."

Seifer's eyes flashed with anger. He couldn't count the times that they'd been making out in her room on the Owls' train, and one of her little self-appointed chaperones barged in and ruined everything. He couldn't even get some peace with his girlfriend on a different fucking _landmass_?

Rinoa leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. "Thank you for a wonderful night." She turned and walked out, not looking back.

Seifer raked one hand through his hair and slumped back against the door to his new room. _I was so close! _He jerked the key card to his room out of his pocket and swiped it through the reader too fast for the thing to register. It took him three tries to get the damn door open, and by the time he was in, he was boiling with frustration. He ripped off the new SeeD uniform and shrugged into his favorite coat, grabbing Hyperion and stalking off to the Training Center. With luck, he'd either find a T-Rexaur to beat on for a while, or a couple of cadets making out in the Secret Area that he could give detention to – either way, it was better than laying around in his room, thinking about _her_. Being rejected like that would make most men either furious or depressed. If anything, Seifer was even more determined. If she wanted to play hard to get, fine. He'd give her the chase she wanted. His lips curved into a smirk as he walked into the training center. He'd always been good at hunting.

Seifer scowled and tapped his foot. Bad enough that he'd been woken from a decent dream – one that was going quite a bit more according his plans for the previous night than actual events had – by Fujin yelling at him from the hallway about a mission, but now he had to wait on the stupid Chickenwuss, too?

The Tilmitt girl bounced on her toes, shifting and glancing around. _Does the girl never stand still? Hyne, she's like a hamster. _She was the first one to spot Dincht – who had the balls to come zooming down the walkway on a T-Board, in front of the Headmaster, a faculty member, and the head of the Hyne-damned _disciplinary committee_. A very, very tiny flicker of respect for this defiant disobediance to authority flared to life in the back of Seifer's mind, but he immediately quashed it. _More likely that he's just too stupid to know any better._

"T-Boards are forbidden on Garden premises. Confiscate it." The robed faculty member – Seifer couldn't tell who it was, or even its gender – snatched the hoverboard out of Dincht's hands. The little blond idiot started whining, and Seifer rolled his eyes. _Thought so. Dumbass._

Cid cleared his throat nervously a moment after the faculty member had finished his tirade. Seifer shot him a look of annoyance. _He's the Headmaster, isn't he? Why the hell doesn't he just take those faceless assholes in line already? _The old man started talking, but Seifer didn't start listening until he picked up on the words 'Timber' and 'resistance faction' – they were sending him to help Rin? He quickly smothered a triumphant grin. His mood lifted enough that he wasn't even worried about being on a team with the Hamster Brigade here.

"Just follow the faction's orders. That is your mission."

"Just us three?" Zell's voice sounded squeakier than usual. Seifer smirked. Let the little brat squirm.

The robed man next to Cid spoke up. "We have agreed to do this job for very little money. Normally this sort of thing would be out of the question, but..." His voice dripped with derision, and his head was turned towards the Headmaster. _Huh. They don't like him anymore than he does. Interesting little tidbit to know._

Cid waved a hand at the man and turned to Seifer. "Given your knowledge of the area and situation, Seifer, I've decided to place you in charge of the team." The Chickenwuss was groaning in disgust somewhere off to his side, put Seifer pulled himself up to his full height and nodded. _It's about damn time._

His thoughts must have shown on his face, because the Headmaster looked mildly concerned, but soldiered on anyway. "Exercise your best judgement when making your decisions. Zell, Selphie, you are to support your team leader to the best of your ability." The hyperactive pair both nodded and saluted, marginally more serious than usual.

Seifer turned to his team and waved a hand. "We're headed for Balamb to catch the first train to Timber. Let's go."

Tilmitt and Dincht turned to go, and Seifer started after them, when the Headmaster's voice called him back. "Seifer! I forgot to give you this." He handed over a small gold oil lamp, like the kind mentioned in stories about genies. "If someone with enough power uses it, then it should be of great help."

The blond SeeD nodded at the old man and started off. _One with enough power, huh? _Seifer grinned.

The Chickenwuss tried to look over his shoulder. "Hey, what is it, anyway?"

"The Headmaster said it was cursed, right? We probably shouldn't mess with it." There was a good deal more caution in the tiny girl's voice than Seifer would expect from someone who routinely jumped off of cliffs.

"Well, we're gonna find out, right now." Seifer moved his hand to rub the lamp when he felt his wrist grabbed in a tight grip.

"If we're going to do this, we ought to at least make sure we're all prepared for something first! You guys have GFs, right?" Tilmitt looked irritated that he wasn't following her earlier suggestion, but there was an excited light in her eyes, as well. _This one just might be worth something after all._

Chickenwuss piped up. "Well, I have Ifrit, but he doesn't really seem to like me much."

Seifer scowled. Guardian Forces didn't interest him much – not the ones that they had access to, anyways. A GF decreased in power the more masters it answered to, and every SeeD and high-level cadet in Garden could call on Ifrit, not to mention all the fifteen year-old kids that had access to Shiva and Quetacoatl. That was why it was important that you curried their favor, as the more they liked you, the more likely they'd be to answer your call before someone else's. It was useless to have multiple people in a group all junction the same GF – that just weakened it further, and it wouldn't answer all of you at once, anyways.

That was all a bunch of bullshit, as far as Seifer was concerned. A real Guardian Force was one that answered only to you, that you defeated in battle or drew from a powerful enemy – it was something you earned, and bent to your will by strength alone. He wasn't about to try to make some weird thing that lived in his brain _like_ him.

Selphie just nodded. "I got a GF from Elvoret on the tower, so I'm fine with it. Seifer can take Ifrit, and you use Shiva and Quezcoatl, okay?" Zell nodded. Seifer was mildly annoyed that she had already managed to tame a wild Guardian Force, but if it lived in something as weak as that thing, then the GF probably wasn't much of anything either.

Seifer closed his eyes and reached for Ifrit. The beast roared in his thoughts and carved out a place for himself, making himself comfortable. Seifer gritted his teeth and opened his eyes. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

Selphie nodded and released her hold on his wrist, and Seifer rubbed the lamp. Thick black smoke started pouring from the small opening at the end, curling and wrapping around the three SeeDs. In less than a minute, Seifer could see nothing but oppressive darkness. His eyes gradually adjusted, revealing a very dimly lit space, constructed of shadows and mist.

"Woah! Where the hell are we?" Seifer glanced behind him – Tilmitt and Dincht had apparently made the same shift in dimensions or realities or whatever the fuck had happened that he had.

Thunder rumbled across the dark expanse. It took Seifer a moment to realize that the sound wasn't thunder – it was a voice, old and deep and very very grumpy. "Who dares disturb my sleep?"

Seifer turned and got a good look at the creature that had spoken. Large, red-skinned, and demonic, with leathery bat wings. Ifrit shifted in his mind, shying away. _This_ was what Guardian Force was supposed to be. Seifer unsheathed Hyperion and let a mad grin spread across his face. "Seifer Almasy! A name you'd better remember, demon. Because I am your master now."

"We shall see."

The GF lifted one hand, and ball of purple-black energy exploded out from the middle of their group. Seifer stumbled in his charge, suddenly feeling weaker than he had in years. _Fucking gravity spells..._ Shaking his head to clear it, Seifer tightened his grip on Hyperion and charged headlong into the demon, hacking at its legs. He got in a few good hits – thick, viscuous black blood was oozing down its shins – but the GF seemed unfazed, letting out a strange rasping roar and charging for Zell. The blow knocked the weakened martial artist on his back, and he didn't seem likely to be getting up soon. Selphie ran to his side and knelt, pulling a small, glowing, golden feather out of her pocket and pressing it against his chest.

Seifer used the momentary distraction to catch his breath, and then bellowed at the demon. "Hey! Ugly! What's the matter, scared?"

The GF turned its black, twisted face back to Seifer. Suddenly the space around the SeeD began to warp and distort, stretching his body to unnatural proportions, and then collapsing it back in on itself. Seifer fell to his knees, gasping, as his organs twisted and realigned themselves in his body. He knew the theory behind them, but one thing they didn't teach you in class about Demi spells was that they fucking _hurt._ He squinted through watering eyes as both his teammates cast their own gravity spells – probably pulled from the damn thing's own body – on the hovering demon. It screamed in pain and rage, the blood running much more freely from the wounds on its legs.

The use of its own element seemed to enrage it – the three SeeDs got hit with that first super-powerful gravity spell again, and then the GF flung both of Seifer's teammates in opposite directions before turning its attention back to the last remaining combatant. Head swimming and aching in every part of his body, Seifer closed his eyes and concentrated. It was always when his strength was at its lowest ebb that he could most easily focus his mind – and whatever reserves of strength he might have – on his enemy.

Pulling himself up, Seifer threw out his left hand, and a large ball of flame erupted on the GF. It shrieked and twisted, but the swordsman paid it no attention. Instead, he whirled Hyperion around his hand several times, until it was nothing more than a blur, green with energy. As soon as he stopped it, that energy collected on the blade. With one smooth slice towards the distant enemy, the collected power went sailing through the air, exploding on impact with the still smoldering demon. Seifer dropped back to a knee, using Hyperion to prop himself up, as the wild Guardian Force lost altitude and began to shimmer out of existence.

As the darkness faded back into the familiar sight of the Balamb Garden front gate, Seifer heard a deep whisper in the back of his mind: _I am Diablos. My strength is yours. _The presence shouldered Ifrit aside and settled into Seifer's mind. The man grunted in satisfaction and rummaged around in his coat pocket until he found a tiny vial of blue liquid. He bit off the wax stopper and chugged the potion, sighing as the ache of battle receeded.

Movement caught the corner of his eye – both Dincht and Tilmitt were twitching slightly. Stumbling over, he dropped down next to the half-conscious brunette and propped her up against his arm, handing her an opened vial. "Hey, messenger girl. Wake up. Time to get going, remember? Mission to do and all?" She managed to drink the potion without incident, and then turned slightly cloudy eyes on her squad leader.

"Nice moves, leader." She managed a slight grin, and Seifer smirked back.

"Well, we got a new GF out of the deal, anyways." Seifer reached up and tapped his temple before helping Selphie to her feet. "Go ahead and junction Ifrit – I won't be needing him now." She nodded and made her way over to Zell, casting a Cure spell on herself as she walked, while Seifer stretched and dismissed the flame beast from his mind.

As soon as he saw the Dincht was vertical, he folded his arms and tapped his foot. "C'mon, move your ass, Chickenwuss. We need to make it to Balamb before the trains quit running for the day."

The spiky-haired blond shot him a look that was half incredulous and half disgusted. "Really? You're going to make us walk to Balamb after nearly getting us _killed_ by a freaking _demon GF_ just because you're a giant asshole who thinks he's the toughest thing under the freaking sun? No way man. You can go to hell. I'm gonna go take a nap." Dincht glowered and shoved his hands in his pockets, pivoting on one foot and starting to trudge back up the steps.

Seifer just smiled, his voice acidic and biting. "That wasn't a _question_, Zell. It was an _order_. Either you follow my orders as your commander on this mission, or you can go crawl in bed like the fucking pansy you are and get disbarred from SeeD. Honestly, I don't give a shit. I neither need you nor want you on my team, Dincht. So it's all up to you. What's it gonna be, 'wuss? I'm leavin'. You coming or not?" Seifer turned and began to stride away, enjoying the way his coat flared behind him and ignoring the twinges in his still-weakened muscles.

Light, quick footsteps registered in his hearing, and a small hand brushed the back of his arm. "You didn't need to be so cruel to him."

Seifer slanted a glance at the girl beside him. "He's gotta learn to be tougher than that. We could end up taking on the whole damn Galbadian army with this job – if one measly GF has him throwing in the towel, he'll be a liability in battle, not an asset."

Selphie shook her head. "I understand that, but shouldn't you be trying to inspire him, instead of knocking him down? Kindness gets more respect than cruelty, you know."

_What the hell is with this girl? She obviously enjoys a good fight, but now she's all sugar and fucking is what gets respect, not being a bleeding heart and pandering to weakness. _Seifer just grunted. "Sorry. Don't think any amount of 'kindness' is going to make Dincht like me, short stuff. Better to just make him angry, focused on showing me up – not gonna happen, but he can try."

A heavy, stomping tread cut off whatever Selphie was going to say next. _Gotta say, this is the only time I've ever been the least bit glad that Chickenwuss showed up somewhere...If I had to listen to that crap much longer, I might've puked. _Seifer glanced over at Zell. The shorter blond was fuming, red cheeks clashing against that stupid tattoo. He was obviously in pain, but kept pace with Seifer and Selphie as they made their way along the highway to Balamb. _Good. Stay angry. Maybe you'll actually be worth something in a fight that way._

No one said much of anything until they made it into the town.

"...Hey Zell, your mom lives here, doesn't she? You should go say bye to her."

Seifer glanced over at Selphie, clearly annoyed. "Did I say anything about side trips?"

The short SeeD just lifted her chin and folded her arms across her small chest. "He has time to visit his mom for a minute while you buy the train tickets. Then I'll go get him when it's time to leave."

Green eyes locked with green for a few moments, then Seifer shook his head. "If either of you are late, I'm leaving without you. You can find your own way to Timber."

Dincht mumbled a quiet "Thanks, Selphie," before darting off down a side street.

Seifer turned and headed towards the train station, disgruntled with himself for backing down – and to a girl half his size, no less. Selphie fell into step next to him. "See, was that really so hard?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said I'd leave you, Tilmitt."

She gave him a long, apraising look. "That's fine. We won't be late."

He just huffed and paid for the tickets. "We leave in a half hour."

Seifer plunked himself down on a bench and watched Selphie play a few hands of Triple Triad with some weird lady who called herself the "Queen of Cards." Some queen, since she lost to the messenger girl all three times. He'd never really had a taste for the game – too slow, and the stakes weren't high enough. After the third game, Selphie ran off to get Zell, and they made it back as the train was pulling up to the station. Seifer pulled himself off the bench with a groan – he still wasn't feeling like he was back to full strength – and made his way into the train.

Tilmitt seemed to regain some of her previous energy the moment she stepped into the train. He shot her a weird look as he opened the door – the girl was nearly bouncing with excitement – and followed her inside. She seemed more interested in the train itself than the cabin, as she claimed a spot by the window and started humming under her breath. Seifer just shrugged and walked into their room.

The place was nice. Worthy of being reserved for SeeD's private use, that was for sure. He half-turned and addressed Zell, who had made his way in, as well. "Make sure you get some rest on the way to Timber. I don't want you slowing us down if we should have to take on the Galbadians."

Dincht just stared at him for a minute.

"What? If you've got something to say, Chickenwuss, then say it. Don't just stare at me like a weirdo."

The shorter man sighed and shook his head. "I'm just trying to figure out how an asshole like you has any friends at all, even idiots like Fujin and Raijin."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "You leave my posse out of this. They're ten times the backup you'll ever be."

"See? That's your problem. You always have to be center stage – you treat Selph and me like we're your flunkies, not your teammates. You don't respect us."

"Respect is something you _earn_, 'wuss. I don't just give it out like candy. And the messenger girl's a hell of a lot closer to getting that from me than you are, that's for damn sure."

Zell's mouth tightened into a thin line, and Seifer was reasonably sure he would've taken a few swings if he hadn't been so obviously exhausted. The younger man backed down, though, and climbed into one of the sleeping cubbies. Seifer settled himself down on the couch, leaving the other bunk for Selphie, so he didn't have to be any closer to the Chickenwuss than necessary.

He didn't expect to sleep, but he did, almost as soon as he closed his eyes. Deep and dreamless, he didn't wake until the intercom informed them that they were in Timber.


	3. Martial Law

Timber was a city that was entirely too fond of blue-green. It kind of made Seifer feel like he was underwater. It was supposed to be soothing, but it felt more like suffocation. The city had apparently decided to deliver a one-two punch to his senses, because the first thing he heard after the train roared away was the nasally voice of Watts, the Owls' "information specialist."

"Oh, the forests of Timber sure have changed!"

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Stuff it with the password bullshit, Watts. Where's the base?"

The chubby man looked around, caught off guard. "Um, well...you're supposed to give the password, sir."

"You know who I am, so cut the crap." Seifer glared at Watts, ignoring the annoyed sigh and grumbles from the two behind him.

Selphie poked him in a shoulder, hard, as Watts bobbed a nod and ran to flag over the train that served as the Forest Owls' base. "Why didn't you just say the password, or let one of us do it? That would have been so much faster and easier!"

"Because it's fucking stupid. Why should I have to prove my identity or whatever when they already know me? I refuse to jump through hoops like some goddamned trained moomba."

"WHOA! Did that guy just get hit by the freakin' train!" Zell ran down to help up the fallen Watts.

_What a moron. Every single time, he stands in front of the train...and every single time he gets hit by the damn thing. _Seifer strolled down the steps as Zone, the digestively-challenged leader of the Owls, came running out of his hideous train car base, screaming at Watts for being an idiot. _I'll never understand why Rin hangs out with these losers..._ The blond man strode up the steps and into the base while Zone was still occupied with Watts, leaving Selphie and Zell to introduce themselves.

His path took him straight down the hall and into Rinoa's room, ignoring the few hellos and numerous weird looks from the other Owls. Rin's room always made him vaguely nauseated, all pink and girly wall-hangings and fancy shit. No one would ever look at this room and see anything but a daughter of privilege, a princess slumming it with the rebels. Angelo, Rin's purebred collie, completed the picture. The dog growled at Seifer as he came in – Seifer resisted the urge to growl back.

Rin was curled up on her plush pink foldout-bed, a hardback book a few inches from her fingers. She shifted and began to stir when Seifer closed the door, sleepily focusing on him with a mumbled "Seifer?"

He just shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door, smirking. "You ordered SeeDs, remember? Well, they're here."

Her eyes lit up and she hopped out of bed immediately. Seifer moved away from the wall, expecting a hug – Rin had always been touchy-feely, especially when excited about something – but was greeted with an outstretched hand.

_ ...The fuck is this?_ He just stared at her in confusion.

"We're going to be working together, right? That makes me your boss, you know!" She leaned forward and flashed him an impish grin – the little brat knew exactly what she was doing. She was using this job – one that he had helped her get in the first place – to put distance between them. Kind of impressive, all things considered, but still crazy. _All this 'cause I made one pass at her? Hyne, woman. What the fuck._

She stepped forward, grabbed a hand that had been previously hanging at his side, shook it, and breezed past him out of the room, a smile on her face.

The "strategy room" in the Owls' base looked much the same as it always had – anti-Galbadian propaganda on the walls, clutter shoved into the corners – but with the addition of one, fairly high-quality train set. Seifer saw Zell and Selphie shoot it a few weird looks as they walked in, but Seifer just shrugged and prepared himself for whatever half-baked scheme the Forest Idiots had cooked up this time.

The plan wasn't terrible, really, though Seifer would have preferred a frontal assault – or failing that, Selphie's rocket launcher idea. But the Idiots were all fired up for this, so Seifer shrugged and went along with it. Kidnapping Deling was a ballsy idea, he had to admit.

The train hijacking went down without a hitch, the Owls' base managing the switch of the real and fake president's cars with ease. _Color me impressed. They managed to not fuck everything up for once._

His momentary admiration dried up the moment that he and Rinoa confronted Deling, however. The man's speech began to distort and echo weirdly in the small space, his body lurching and jerking as he rushed Rinoa. Seifer jerked her out of the way. "Chickenwuss! Tilmitt! Get your asses in here _now_!"

Zell and Selphie rushed in from where they'd been waiting with Watts, ready for a fight. Seifer shoved Rinoa towards Zone, doubled-over in the corner, and drew Hyperion. A few good hits later, the flesh of Deling's doppelganger began to melt and run like wax, revealing a skeleton on one side, but rendering the other half bulging and malformed, like a candle fallen on its side. _I'm pretty sure all of the thing's organs migrated to one spot in its stomach, too, if that giant blue boil is what I think it is._ Seifer charged and scored a deep slash against the swollen bulge. The wound gushed an unidentifiable fluid over Seifer's weapon and hands, foul and blue and rotten-smelling, but the creature didn't seem to notice; instead, it turned, grabbed Selphie by the throat, and squeezed. Seifer winced as he heard something crunch and she dropped to the floor, the spell she'd been casting dying on her lips. He tried to keep himself between the monster and Tilmitt, yelling for Zell to give her an Echo Screen, but then the thing _roared_, guttural and gurgling, and Seifer's world went black.

He staggered back, body leaden and weak, barely responding to his brain's commands. Hyperion slipped from his suddenly nerveless fingers, and he flailed weakly in the thick, artificial darkness that surrounded him, falling back into space. Hyperion hit the floor before he did, the dropped gunblade no longer affected by the Slow spell that bent time around him.

Small, strong hands grabbed him from both sides, and a hoarse voice rasped out "Draw! Esuna!" before dissolving into a hacking cough.

Feeling slowly returned to Seifer's extremities, making them tingle. He began to be able to make out the shapes of his squad members and the enemy, enough to see a blurred shape rush the doppelganger and hit it in the chest with something small and bright. The creature screamed and writhed as it burst into white flame.

"What...the hell was that?" Seifer weakly pushed himself up into a seated position, brushing away the hands that still supported him.

The form on one side – Selphie? – caught her breath briefly. "Phoenix down. Thing was undead. Zell noticed." She started coughing again, and took the blue potion bottle that Rinoa handed her.

Dincht jogged up to the three, looking as fresh as he had before the battle, silhouetted by the still burning remains of the doppelganger. "You guys okay?"

Selphie nodded and massaged her throat, Rinoa smiled weakly, and Seifer glowered up at the short blond before pulling himself to his feet. "What the fuck kind of thing uses Blind, Slow, and Curse all at the same damn time?" He grumbled and picked up Hyperion, wincing at the disgusting gunk still clinging to the blade.

He turned back around to see Zell smirking up at him. "Good thing I remembered that phoenix down kills the undead, huh? Or you might still be flailing around like a drunk bumblebee!" There was a challenging light in his eyes, an expression that clearly said _who's the Chickenwuss now, huh?_

Seifer just brushed past him, ignoring the sounds of indignation and protest that followed in his wake. He'd be damned and blind again before the words "thank you Zell" _ever_ crossed his lips.

Seifer was sitting in a corner of the strategy room, meticulously cleaning the zombie bile from his gunblade, when Watts burst in with new info. He glanced up briefly. _Better than listening to Zone and Rinoa moan about how their mission failed, or Chickenwuss grumble about how I'm such an asshole._ He sat back and listened to the Owls and his SeeDs discuss TV Stations and Communications Towers, radio waves and worldwide broadcasts.

"There must be something that they want to say to the whole world...But what could it be?" Rinoa clasped her elbow and chewed her lip in thought.

Selphie threw out her arms and beamed at everyone in the room. "Everybody! Love! And! Peace!"

The temperature of the entire room increased a few degrees with the strength of everyone's exasperated sighs. Seifer just shook his head in amazement. _First she wants to blow something up with a rocket launcher, and now she's babbling about love and world peace. What the fuck goes on in your head, Tilmitt?_

Rinoa apparently had an Idea, because the three leaders of the Forest Idiots were crouched in the corner of the room in one of their "strategy meetings." Seifer finished cleaning Hyperion and holstered the gunblade, settling back against the wall to wait out whatever the Owls would decide.

Selphie walked over to him and sat down. "Can't we go home now?"

"Nah. Contract says we have to help the Owls until Timber reaches independence." That had been Rinoa's idea. Seifer had supported the idea, but he hadn't dreamed they'd actually send him on this mission – and he'd forgotten exactly how incompetent the Owls could be.

Zell and Selphie stared at him in horror. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Zell shook his head. "Cid signed off on that?"

Seifer nodded. "May as well get comfortable, we're gonna be here a while."

Rinoa walked over and smiled brightly. "We're headed to the TV Station to intercept the broadcast and declare Timber's independence to the whole world! Which two of you are coming with me?" _Frontal assault? Should be more interesting than train-jacking, anyways._

"Why should we split up? It's not like four is that much more conspicuous than three. Plus, this way we can look like two couples on a double date or some shit."

Rin shrugged. "You're the leader. Let's go, then."

Seifer held up a hand. "Wait a sec. Rin, if you're going to fight with us, you need to fight _like_ us. That whole Selphie getting silenced thing almost fucked us over last time. Zell, give her Shiva. Selphie, you teach her how to use magic, I want her to help you as magical support. Her weapon's long-range, should be a good fit."

Zell and Selphie nodded, but Rinoa balked. "Guardian Forces and magic...? That's SeeD stuff, I don't have any training..."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "That why I told Messenger Girl to train you, Rin. Either you take the damn GF or we leave you behind on missions. Your call."

She chewed on her lip for a moment and nodded. Zell laid a hand on her arm and transferred the GF, and Seifer caught her shoulders as she cried out and clutched at her head. He'd been junctioning for so long that he'd forgotten the searing pain of a GF carving its own place in your head for the first time. _She'll tough through it. If she can't, then she'll be a liability to us. _After a moment, Rin swallowed hard and stood up, looking slightly nauseuous. Shiva was almost as bad a fit for her as Zell – the ice queen preferred hosts who were reserved and cool, not passionate and headstrong – but she was the most calm and biddable of their GFs, ideal for learning the ropes. Selphie slipped an arm through one of Rinoa's as Seifer released her shoulders, quietly explaining the basics of magic and junctioning.

The four of them grabbed their supplies and headed out of the base.

The path to the TV Station was crawling with Galbadian soldiers, to the point that not even Seifer was willing to chance it. A little reconnaisance turned up a back way in, however, through an alleyway behind the local pub.

Two soldiers stood in front of the bar, slacking off and not paying a damn bit of attention to their surroundings. _Sloppy. Damn amateurs. _Seifer grinned and leaped down the small flight of stairs, rolling right into the middle of the two guards. Hyperion came up in a diagonal slash, the blade and a well-timed bullet digging deep into the man's chest. Behind him, he heard the meaty thunks of fists and nunchaku striking flesh, followed by the crack and fizzle of a Thunder spell. When he glanced back over his shoulder, Rin was flexing the fingers of her right hand and frowning down at the slightly-charred remains of the dead soldier.

Selphie practically bounced over to Rinoa, beaming. "Hey, good job! You're getting the hang of this pretty fast. I mean, your spells don't pack much of a punch now, but they'll get stronger with practice. And you didn't hit me or Zell! That's always a plus."

Seifer rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Alright ladies, pep talk time's over. Chickenwuss, stash these deadbeats somewhere the locals won't trip over them, and then catch up with us." He ignored Dincht's bitching and swaggered into the bar, Rinoa and the messenger girl hot on his heels.

The back door was blocked by some drunken idiot, blathering about how bad his life was. Seifer just tuned him out, marched over to him and grabbed an arm, hauling him out of the way. The owner raised his eyebrows at the manhandling of one of his customers, and Seifer flipped him a hundred gil coin. "Just passing through, nothing to see here." Plastering on his most charming smile, Seifer turned to Rinoa and Selphie, half-bowing as he opened the door. "After you, ladies." They both shot him exasperated looks as they walked past. Zell had apparently come in at some point, and started towards the door, but Seifer slipped through and let it shut in his face. _Heh. Dumbass._ The muffled yelling on the other side of the door made him chuckle.

The messenger girl had her hands planted on her hips, looking like she was about to boil over with fury, and Rin was glaring at him in disapproval, but Seifer walked past them and down the alleyway before either of them had a chance to give him a piece of their minds.

The back route to the TV station led them through a trash-strewn alley, complete with the smell of dead animals and a drunk passed out in a pool of something that Seifer didn't care to inspect too closely. The steps leading up the station itself were rusted, and creaked when stepped on, but they led to a giant outdoor TV that was somehow still functioning, despite the red gibberish from the radio interference scrolling across it. _...Wait, are those words? ...'I am alive'?...well, that's just a little bit on the fucking creepy side._

Seifer was jerked out of his morbid fascination with the interference by Watts's voice, suddenly echoing behind him. "The president's in the studio now, sir! Too many guards, so we can't storm the place."

Rinoa sighed and shifted her weight uncertainly. "So we can't just rush in? Maybe we can wait until after the president leaves...then there won't be any guards, right? Our broadcast may not be as influential, but it's better than nothing..."

"Fuck that. We're going in now." Seifer drew Hyperion and settled it against his shoulder. He glanced over at his squad, nodding in approval at the excitement in both Tilmitt and Dincht's eyes.

Zell nodded. "You tell us to go, Rinoa, we go. Even if it's a losing battle. That's our job."

Seifer twitched internally at Zell transfering the authority to Rinoa, but he couldn't argue. She was their boss, her orders were law. Of course, every law had loopholes, and sometimes they needed to be broken, but there was no reason to tell her that.

"How sad... Act on my decision? That's your duty? How easy a life it must be just to follow orders..." She was looking at them – at _him_ – with nothing but pity in her eyes, and Seifer just snapped.

"You fucking _begged_ me to get you this contract, and I helped you, because it was the only way that you and the Forest Morons were ever going to get anything done. You think you could have come even half this far without us – without me – doing all the fucking dirty work? And you say that taking orders from some halfwit resistance group who thinks that strategy meetings are comprised of three people plopped down on the floor? I do everything in my power to make the best of your ridiculous plans, and now you look down at me like I'm some dog on a leash? Like I'm no better than goddamn _Angelo_? Do what you want, _Princess_, but I'm going up to do what you're too scared to, so we can get the fuck out of here if you pity us so damn much." Seifer whirled, coat snapping behind him, and tromped up the steps to get away from the hurt and outrage in Rinoa's eyes.

Dincht and Tilmitt followed him after a moment, and Selphie tentatively laid a hand on his arm. "Rinoa ran off. Do you want to go after her?"

Seifer shrugged off her hand and shook his head. "She'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks, and Watts will take care of her. Let's do what we came here for."

Zell punched a fist into his open palm, trying to project an air of confidence, but Seifer could see that losing Rinoa's backing had shaken him a little. "So...how're we gonna do this?" _Man up, Chickenwuss. Even I can't storm a place with two and a half people. _

"You and Tilmitt cover our exit and keep it clear. I'll grab Deling before he knows what hit him, and we should be able to get out of there no problem. Quick and dirty, if you have an opportunity to take down some of the guards, do it. No mercy. Got it?"

His squad nodded, their training kicking in. Seifer grinned and nodded back, taking off across the long bridge to the heart of the station.

The path to the broadcasting room was well-guarded, but the soldiers were spaced out sufficiently that they could drop one without alerting the next. The SeeDs progressed through the station at a steady rate, leaving a trail of Galbadian corpses behind them, until they came to the door of the broadcasting room itself, which was much more densely packed with soldiers. Seifer held up a hand and settled in the shadows just outside the room, listening to the president serve up some bullshit about peace with other nations. _The hell are you really up to, Deling? All this for some ambassador?_

"The Ambassador is the Sorceress..."

Seifer caught his breath as something clamped down inside his chest. All the dreams of his childhood flickered in front of his eyes, all nights spent lying awake, dreaming of being a knight. There was a Sorceress, here, and Deling was using her as a power play. _I can't let her be wasted on this._

He sprung into action and leaped towards Deling. A soldier got in his way, so he cut him down – two others grabbed his arms. A third closed in to neutralize him, but got a boot in the stomach for his trouble. Seifer shrugged off the soldiers holding him and seized the president, laying Hyperion's blade across the man's throat. A quick survey of the room showed Zell cleaning up the stragglers and Selphie planted firmly in the doorway, her tiny frame managing to look more solid and unmovable than Raijin's. Seifer felt a brief burst of possessive pride – _my squad, my SeeDs – _before turning his full attention back to the barely struggling man in his grasp.

"So. What exactly is it that you...hooligans...want with me?" He sounded pretty calm for a chubby old man with a gunblade at his throat and a room full of enemies.

_The Sorceress, that's what I want. It's all I've ever wanted._

Selphie beat him to it, though. "We want Timber's independence!"

The old man just laughed. "Good luck with that."

Zell cracked his knuckles and bounced on his toes. "So, he's not cooperating. What are we gonna do with him, take him back to Garden or the O-"

"ZELL! NO!" Selphie's eyes were about as wide as they could get, and it took Seifer a minute to distinguish between his own body shaking in rage, and the president's in laughter. _Chickenwuss, you fucking idiot. How stupid do you have to be, really? You almost implicated the Owls, too._

"So you're all from Garden? SeeDs, I take it? Then you should be able to figure out just what exactly will happen to Garden if anything happens to me. ...You may let go of me now."

Seifer glared at Zell, his mouth twisted in a bitter grimace, voice rough with barely-contained fury. "Nice going, dumbass. You just had to open your big mouth. You are the most worthless piece of shit excuse for a SeeD I've ever seen, and if something happens to Garden, it's all on your head."

He saw Dincht completely deflate, sagging against a camera.

Seifer shook his head and started backing towards the door. "C'mon. We can still salvage this operation if we move fast." Selphie opened the door for him and Zell followed after a moment.

The air in the next room was heavy and thick, like space was distorting all around them. Selphie and Zell flanked either side of him as he stopped, looking around.

"...Poor, poor boy..." The voice, female and eerie and weirdly _familiar_, echoed around him and in his head.

She walked out of a space that Seifer could have sworn only contained a wall, and turned to face them. Her features were concealed by a strange red mask, and a dress that looked almost liquid clung to her milk-white curves, except where it punged deep between her breasts and flared out at her ankles. Her hands were clawed and cruel-looking. _Sorceress_, something deep within him whispered, and Diablos shifted restlessly in recognition. Seifer swallowed hard and lifted his chin. "Stay back!" She was dangerous, and the rational part of his mind knew that, even if the other, more primal half longed for her.

"Such a confused little boy. Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide."

Seifer shook a little, but held his ground, pressing Hyperion more firmly against Deling's throat. "I said stay back!" Tilmitt raised her nunchaku threateningly next to him.

"The boy in you is telling you to come. The adult in you is telling you to back off." The woman brought her hands together and light appeared above them, flashing again at the corner of his eye – when he glanced to his right, Selphie was frozen in her battle stance, her chest barely moving enough to allow her to breathe.

"You can't make up your mind. You don't know the right answer. You want help, don't you? You want to be saved from this predicament." The sorceress's voice was honey and twilight, soft and sweet and alluring, drawing him in with every word.

"Don't be ashamed to ask for help. After all, you're only a little boy."

Seifer dragged in a deep, ragged breath, and shook his head, trying to clear it. "I'm not... Stop calling me a boy."

The witch's lips curled beneath her mask, and she shook her head, then raised a hand and sent out that same light that had petrified Tilmitt. Seifer felt his arms drop to his sides, leaden and boneless, then his entire body seized up and refused to move. Deling scampered away, but he barely even noticed. He could barely draw breath, and only his eyes still had their full range of motion. He'd never be subject to a Stop spell this intense before – she was more powerful than anything else he'd ever faced. It was _terrifying_. And a little bit exhilarating.

"I'm not talking to you, child. Well, boy?" She tilted her head at Zell and raised a hand in invitation.

"I...I'm not a boy." Zell was shaking like a leaf, his eyes round and defiant.

"Come with me. Bid farewell to your childhood. I can see the potential in you that no one else can." She walked forward and pressed one clawed hand against Dincht's cheek, and his eyes glazed and fell half-closed. "Be my knight, and you will have the power to protect everything you hold dear."

_NO! That was MY dream!_

Zell nodded and followed her around the corner and disappeared as reality warped around him. The sorceress smiled and tilted her head at Seifer, and then followed Dincht. The Stop spell dissolved as she did, and Seifer lurched forward, stumbling and driving his fist into the curtained wall where they'd disappeared. _That was supposed to be me, my dream, my destiny, my chance...and now it's gone. _He snarled and shoved his hands through his hair, pacing furiously.

_The sorceress is gone, Dincht is gone, Deling is gone – which means that Garden is in danger. Fuck. _He stopped and whirled at the hand on his arm, Hyperion swinging up in an automatic strike that he only barely managed to pull back when he met Tilmitt's eyes.

"You have to keep it together. You're the leader, remember? C'mon, we need to go find the Owls and regroup. Maybe send out some warnings to Balamb, see if they can find Zell. But we need to leave _now_. Okay?" There was real steel in her eyes, and Seifer didn't find it hard to believe that she'd find some way to knock him over the head and drag his ass out if she needed to.

"...Yeah. Yeah. Let's go."


	4. Unrest

Chapter 4 – Unrest

It didn't take them long to regroup and meet back up with Rinoa, who pestered them with questions about Deling and Zell and the Sorceress and safe places they could go that Selphie, thankfully, answered for him. Seifer was too distracted with his own thoughts – _should have been me, why would she pick the fucking chickenwuss of all people, goddammit I was so close_ – to pay much attention to where they were going, finding himself in the kitchen of a rather large woman called the Chief. She apparently led one of the other resistance groups and knew Rin – but then, pretty much everyone in Timber knew Rin.

A knock pounded against the door, startling everyone inside. A young woman waved them all upstairs while her mother yelled at the soldiers demanding entry.

Rinoa paused on the stairs, clasping her elbow. "Will she be alright?"

The young woman smiled. "The legend goes that my mother took down many Galbadian soldiers with her strength, cooking, and beauty."

Selphie, at the top of the stairwell, flashed Seifer a grin that somehow managed to be pure evil in its innocence. "The 'beauty' part certainly makes it sound like a legend!" She then bolted up the stairs, ignoring Rinoa's astonished stare and the young woman's amusement.

_Insulting a person's mother to their face...that's either stupidity, confidence, or insanity. I'm leaning towards the last one. _Seifer shook his head and chuckled, then followed the girls up the stairs, his bad mood lightened, if only a little.

Rinoa was hunkered down by the window, Selphie sprawled on the bed nearby. Seifer leaned himself against the wall across from them and stared out the window. After a moment, Rin tipped her head and frowned up at Seifer. "Do you think he's alright?"

"Chickenwuss? Who knows. The Sorceress could have his head on a spike in Deling City right now for all we know. He did help attack the President, after all." His tone was light, flippant, but he knew better. _She saw potential in him. "Be my knight," she said. What the fuck could she have seen? He's a loser and a crybaby, always has been._

"How can you be so casual about this? He's part of your team! You should have protected him!" Rin clenched her hands into fists and glared at him. _Protecting the weak, Rin's one true passion. Even _she_ could see that was what Dincht was. Weak. So why..._

Seifer shook his head and flung out a hand in irritation. "What the hell did you want me to do? Fall on my knees and beg the chickenwuss not to leave me? Or did you forget that I _couldn't fucking move_ at the time?"

Rinoa's gaze was steady, unflinching. "Maybe if you hadn't been so cruel to him, he wouldn't have left with her."

"So what, this is _my_ fault now?"

"Maybe it is."

Their staring match was interrupted by Selphie's soft cough and the heavy thump of the resistance chief walking through the door. "The Galbadians are pulling out of town. If you're going to leave, now's a good time." She then thumped back down the stairs, Selphie hard on her heels. Rinoa threw him one last measuring glance before she went down, too.

Selphie was staring out the window downstairs, but she turned and cocked her head at him as he tromped down the stairs. "So, where are we going? After we get outta here, I mean. Isn't there some sort of protocol for this sort of thing?"

_Fuck if I know, I haven't studied the Garden Code since Quistis became a SeeD. She was the only one who gave a damn about that shit. Hyne, she was an annoying study partner. Not bad sparring practice, though. _

Seifer shrugged. "Well, we can't go back to Balamb, not after Chickenwuss dropped that little nugget of info in front of Deling..."

The resistance chief crossed her arms over her bosom and shook her head. "There's only one train headed out today, and it's not to Balamb. All the car rental places are being watched. You'd have to go somewhere within walking distance, of either here or East Academy station."

_East Academy... Halfway between Dollet and Galbadia Garden. Dollet probably wouldn't be happy to have SeeDs show up, what with all the shit that happened during the Field Exam, so G-Garden it is._

Seifer waved a hand towards the door. "Fine. We'll catch the train and head to Galbadia Garden. Let's get out of here, I'm sick of this town."

Selphie moved up to flank him, but Rinoa hung back a little. "What about the Owls? Do you think they'll be okay? I can't just leave them here..." Seifer wracked his brain for something halfway comforting, to help smooth over the anger between himself and Rin, but he just couldn't muster up the effort to give a damn about the Forest Idiots.

Fortunately, someone else stepped in for him. The Chief's daughter smiled at Rinoa. "Watts was the one who gave us the info about the East Academy train, while you all were upstairs. They've all split up already – you just focus on staying safe, and trust them to do the same, okay?"

She brightened and nodded, finally following him out the door.

They bought the last few tickets and made it onto the train just as it was departing. Selphie did her weird train thing, where she acted like a little kid who'd eaten four pounds of pure sugar and just _bounced_ with excitement – Seifer had no clue where she got that much energy, much less why she would choose to freak the fuck out over a train of all things, but he shrugged and let her into the cabin.

It wasn't the swanky SeeD car they'd travelled in to Timber, but it was quiet and safe. And really goddamn boring. Seifer tossed himself down on a couch and threw an arm over his eyes, groaning. He felt a slight shift on the couch, and cracked an eye open to see Rin settled down next to him, staring at her clasped hands.

"I'm sorry about getting mad at you earlier. A member of your team got captured... I can't imagine how I'd feel if I saw someone take Zone or Watts away while I was standing right there, helpless. And there's Balamb Garden to worry about, too. You must be under a lot of stress right now." She tentatively laid a hand on his knee, tilting her head and looking up at him through her lashes.

_She thinks that's the problem? That I'm feeling guilty about Dincht? That I'm _worried_ about him? _Seifer just shook his head in complete exasperation. She didn't get it, she wouldn't understand even if he told her about his romantic dream, and he wasn't about to do that. Too personal, too important, even for his posse, and he trusted them more than he trusted Rin.

Besides, there was no reason for her to know that he may well have left her and everything she represented behind for a chance to be a knight. She was technically a client, abandoning them was generally considered bad business for SeeD. Not to mention the fact that he did honestly like her, even though she was a huge pain in the ass, and breaking her little heart wasn't something he wanted to do if he could help it.

So Seifer just shrugged and stretched an arm along the couch behind her, giving her his best thank-you-for-being-so-sweet smile. It felt weird on his face, but it had always worked on her before. "Don't worry about it, Rin. I'll be okay." _Give her a minute, and she should be putty in my hands..._

She dimpled back at him, leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, and then was gone, before he could even grab at empty air.

He rolled his eyes, shoved a hand through his hair, and slumped down farther on the couch. _This day keeps getting better and better._

Galbadia Garden was massive, and the skies around it were choked with advanced military equipment – mechanized suits, planes, prototypes of every kind. The place was clearly supposed to evoke feelings of awe for the might of the great Galbadian army in those that came here. Seifer was mostly unimpressed. The officers of the G-Army were trained here, and those morons were completely without imagination or style. However much the instructors of Balamb Garden liked their strict, ridiculous rules, Galbadia could top them anytime. That was fine for grunt foot soldiers who needed to follow orders, but forcing your commanders into little boxes of protocol was stupider than Seifer could wrap his mind around.

The sheer scale of the place, though...that was just a _little_ impressive.

Selphie obviously felt the same. Her eyes were huge as she took in everything around her. "Wow...sure is different. And quieter than Balamb _or_ Trabia..."

Seifer shrugged and walked through the front gate. "It's a military academy, not a school. C'mon, let's go track down the headmaster."

"That won't be necessary."

A smooth feminine voice rang out across the Garden's atrium. _Wait, what the fuck is _she_ doing here?_

Seifer's eyes jerked over to settle on a slim blonde woman, standing at ease, with her arms crossed lightly over her waist. Her lips curved up in faint amusement as she noticed his surprise, and she strolled over to the small group, her smile slipping as she did a quick headcount. "Where's Dincht?"

"Nice to see you, too, Trepe. The fuck are you doing here?"

Quistis propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You have new orders from Headmaster Cid. I'm here to deliver them and aid you in your new mission. Now, _where is Zell?_"

Selphie piped up, "He was taken by the sorceress, instructor. There was nothing we could do about it – she had us all in a Stop spell."

The blonde sighed and shook her head, raising her hands helplessly. She shot Seifer a look that promised that they would have words about this later, and spun on her heel to walk away. "I'll go ask Martine about him. Go wait in the second floor reception room. There are some other people from Balamb waiting for you there."

Seifer watched her go, stress written in the tension of her muscles and stiff gait. _Still so goddamn uptight about everything. _Hard to deal with as she was, especially when pissed off, there were very few other people he'd rather watching his back...unless Cid had sent her here as some sort of glorified babysitter. He'd accept her help, but this was his command, and if she didn't like it, she could fuck off.

"Is she always like that?" Rinoa was staring after Quistis, her head cocked to the side in thought.

"What, a heinous, bossy, overbearing pain in the ass? Yeah, that's pretty much the Instructor in a nutshell." _She wasn't always this bad, though. She used to even be fun, every once in a while. Making SeeD may as well have turned her into a robot, though, and making Instructor was even worse. _

Selphie stifled a small giggle behind him, and Seifer threw her a grin. She's been in Balamb Garden for what, a week? Long enough to have more than enough experience with the legendary Instructor Trepe. "May as well do what she says, or we'll just get bitched out later." Besides, he had an inkling of who, exactly, might have come with Quistis to Galbadia, and he wanted to see if he was right.

Seifer had barely opened the door to the reception room when Raijin jumped up off a couch inside, grinning like a moron. "Hey Seifer! Good to see ya, ya know? That stunt in Timber was really awesome, ya know? We were all watching it on TV back in Balamb!"

Fujin kicked Raijin in the leg to shut him up and shot Seifer a steady one-eyed look. "SEIFER. TIMBER?"

Seifer sauntered into the room, smirking. It felt good, _damn_ good, to have his posse back. He could always count on them to have his back and hang on his every word. "Some shit went down. We ran into a sorceress, lost the president and got ran out of Timber. Ended up here, since the last train out was to East Academy. What're you guys doing here?"

"Well, we told Headmaster Cid that we were gonna come help you, ya know? So he gave us some new orders to give to you. But then Instructor Trepe decided to come with us, and she brought us here when we couldn't get to Timber, said you'd remember your Garden Code and show up here eventually, ya know? So she gave the mission stuff to the Headmaster here, and here we are." He turned to Fujin and they exchanged a nod.

"Wait, Trepe wasn't ordered to come here? She did it on her own? And what are these new orders, anyways?" _What, she doesn't trust me to handle whatever this new mission is? Dammit, she _knows_ how good I am._

"Nah, she heard we were coming and then up and put in for leave and came with us. Dunno why. Maybe she was just bored, ya know? Wanted to fight something? I know I'd get bored stuck in a classroom all day, ya know?"

Fujin rolled her eye and punched Raijin in the arm, making him whimper. "QUIET."

Selphie leaned over the back of a couch. "That's weird. She's an instructor, she's not supposed to go on missions."

The door reopened behind them with a quiet _woosh_, and Quistis walked in, her boot heels clicking smartly against the tiled floor. "I don't, normally. However, I chose to take a brief leave of absence from my Instructing duties. This mission is too important to leave in the hands of two rookie SeeDs, two cadets, and an untrained civilian, no matter how powerful they are, individually or as a group."

Seifer glared at her, and she calmly held his gaze until Raijin opened his big mouth.

"Should be fun, ya know? Just like the old days, before Quisty became a teacher, ya know?"

_Yeah, like that would ever happen. _Seifer jerked his eyes off to the side and snorted. He caught Selphie grinning at him like she'd just figured out something extremelyfunny, so he shot her a side-eyed glare just for good measure. She just wiggled her eyebrows and giggled. Rinoa was looking at Selphie like she'd lost her damned mind, and Seifer was inclined to agree.

Quistis cleared her throat, somewhat awkwardly, Seifer thought. "This is a very important mission, Raijin. I doubt very seriously that it will be much 'fun.'"

"Enough with the secrecy and beating around the fucking bush already, Trepe. What does Kramer want us to do?"

"Martine will give us the details shortly, but the short version is that we're to assassinate the sorceress." The blonde woman didn't react to any of the exclamations from the rest of the team, and instead kept her eyes steady on Seifer. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Seifer bit back a curse. He'd forgotten that he'd told Quistis about his dream years ago, back before she'd made SeeD. How and why she'd remembered something like that for this long, he had no idea. He just shrugged and put on his best rebellious smirk. "You know how much I love a challenge." _Not like I'd ever serve a sorceress who passed me up for Dincht, anyways. Better that she be made to __step aside and pass on her powers to someone with better taste._

Selphie bounced on her toes and frowned. "This is a SeeD mission, right? Then why are Rinoa and these two," she nodded at Fu and Rai, "coming with us? Isn't that against the rules?"

"Normally, yes, but the Headmaster determined that we'd need a decent amount of manpower for the mission, and Fujin and Raijin are the only ones who have ever successfully worked with Seifer for a long period of time. If you hadn't noticed, he's rather difficult to deal with." Trepe glanced over with a frown; Seifer just smirked back. "Plus, I don't think anyone could have stopped them from coming. I'm taking responsibility for their welfare. As for Rinoa, she is still your client and can remain with you as long as she wishes. Due to her status as a Timber rebel, however, she will be passing for a SeeD while we're here. Headmaster Martine will answer any other questions you have."

Quistis took a deep breath and addressed the room at large. "I have some news about Zell. Apparently he was taken into custody by the Galbadian military, tried, and sentenced. However, no one knows exactly what that sentence was – popular theory is...execution."

"That's bullshit. The sorceress asked him to be her knight – she wouldn't let the Galbadians kill him. We'll see the Chickenwuss again, no doubt about it." _And when we do, he has a serious ass-kicking coming to him._ Seifer ignored the women glaring at him, probably for the "insensitive nickname." He didn't particularly give a shit. "When and where do we meet Martine?"

"The front gate, and we can go ahead and head down now." Seifer swept out of the room almost before she'd finished her sentence. Fujin and Raijin were right behind him, but he heard the rapid clicking of boot heels before he'd even gotten halfway through the atrium. Seifer lazily waved a hand at his posse, indicating that they should hang back a bit.

Quistis sighed and rubbed her eyes as she caught up with Seifer. "You know, I'd almost forgotten how much trouble you are."

"Aww, Instructor Trepe forgetting her favorite student already? Are you sure they didn't demote you and send you out to babysit me as punishment?" Needling Quistis had always been one of Seifer's favorite pastimes. She tried to keep up the icy facade, but it was so damn easy to get under her skin most of the time.

Not this time, though. Her lips curved up in a smug smile. "Demoted? The most infamous student in Balamb Garden passed under my tutelage. Cid gave me a bonus."

Seifer twitched at that. Another person getting credit for his own success irritated him down to his core. _Of course, she knew that, and now there's no barrier of rank to keep her from giving as good __as she gets. This could be an even bigger pain in the ass than I thought._

"Really, though, it took you long enough to make SeeD. Don't you know it's rude to make a lady wait?" She smiled, and Seifer couldn't tell if it was genuine or mocking. Then she laced her fingers behind her back and walked out the front gate of the Garden. _...The fuck was that supposed to mean?_

The mission brief went off without a hitch, unless you count Rin giving the sloppiest salute in Garden history, and their group being forced to take along some trumped-up cowboy sharpshooter whom they had to "support to the fullest." Seifer hated him from the get-go – Irvine Kinneas had this smug face that just begged to be punched. He managed to curb the impulse, but only just barely.

As soon as Martine left, the sniper flung his arms out wide and grinned. "You know, the train cars only hold four people each. That means we'll have to split up for the journey to Deling City. I know exactly who I'd like to travel with." He slung a proprietary arm around Selphie's shoulders, not seeming to notice her stiffen with surprise, and caught Rinoa's hand, pulling it to his lips. Then he raised his eyes to Quistis and smiled. Seifer honestly thought she might throw up.

Rin shot him a pleading look. "Actually, I really need to talk to Seifer about something..."

Judging by the way her face had gone completely pale at the mention of their Deling City contact, one General Caraway, Seifer had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to talk about. He also had a pretty good idea that he didn't want to listen to it. Forcing Quistis to squirm her way through a train ride with the moron sounded like fun, too. If he was being honest with himself, he felt a little bad about leaving Selphie with Irvine, but he'd not had any peace and quiet in ages, and she was constantly singing that stupid train song.

Seifer just shrugged amiably and waved a hand. "Have fun, kids."

Rin's eyes widened and Selphie's mouth just dropped open, both of them staring at him in shock. _Okay, that response was totally worth whatever bitching I'm about to get._ Selphie soon got herself under control, narrowing her eyes and closing her mouth with a click. "You know what? We will!" She spun away and stuck her nose in the air.

Rinoa just smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, I understand." Then she wrapped herself around Irvine's arm, pouring on the charm. "Come on Mr. Kinneas, let's go."

Seifer could have sworn that he heard his teeth crack from how much he was gritting them, though he couldn't help but crack up laughing when Selphie flung herself on Kinneas's other side and loudly proclaimed, "Irvy Kinnepooo! I'll make you so happy!" _That woman is insane. Certifiably._

Irvine shot Seifer a smug look, like the two women clinging to him were all because of his own charm and good looks, and strutted off. Seifer shook his head. _Doubtless I'll have to take the idiot down a few pegs, but I guess he gets points for confidence._

Turning to his posse, Seifer found Quistis still standing there, staring at him. "Don't you have a date on the train, Trepe?"

The blonde looked a bit green. "Leader of this mission or not, Seifer, I am _not_ riding with him."

Seifer was about to insist that she hurry her ass up because she was NOT getting into a train car with him when Raijin piped up.

"It's okay Quisty, you can ride with us, right Seifer? We've got a little extra room, ya know?" He had the biggest, most puppy-like grin on his face, and Seifer remembered exactly how much Rai had adored Quistis in the years before she made SeeD, and then how she quickly became his favorite Instructor. The moron was two steps away from being a Hyne-damned Trepie. He had opened his mouth to argue when Quistis linked one arm in Raijin's, thanking him for the kind offer. Even Fu seemed rather pleased by the arrangement, nodding down the road at the retreating figure of Irvine Kinneas.

"CREEP."

Quistis dissolved into laughter. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Trepe and his posse headed off for the train station, with Fujin yelling, "SEIFER! COMING?" over her shoulder. Seifer was forced to either trail after them or jog to catch up. He chose the former.

_Hyne, this is so much bullshit. Hopefully this mission goes down quickly, so she takes her ass back to Garden ASAP. I'm not sure how much more Quistis Trepe I can handle._

The ride to Deling City passed in mostly-silence. Quistis curled up with a book, Fu and Rai played cards, and Seifer just stretched out on a couch and relaxed.

Rinoa and Selphie were waiting for them on the platform, glaring at Kinneas, standing a decent distance away. As soon as Seifer stepped off the train, Rin snagged his coat sleeve. "You are not leaving either of us with him again, got it?"

"Yeah, it would jeopardize the mission if I set his face on fire." Tilmitt had a deadly serious look on her face. _Might almost be worth it, though. That would be some funny shit._

Trepe stepped off onto the platform behind him and frowned. "He didn't try anything inappropriate with either of you, did he?"

"No, nothing like that. Just a lot of flirting and talking about destiny and the woes of being a sharpshooter. It was really annoying. Even I wanted to hit him." Rin crossed her arms over her chest and shuddered theatrically.

Seifer shrugged. "Fine. Fu! Keep an eye on Kinneas and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble, alright?"

She smiled, and it was a distinctly unpleasant expression. "AFFIRMATIVE."

"Alright people, get on the bus. We're headed to Caraway's mansion." Seifer swept out of the train station and onto the nearest bus, ignoring Rinoa's proests. _Gonna have to face your old man sometime, Rin. May as well be now. Though...leader of the Galbadian military, planning to kill Deling's appointed ambassador? Interesting._

The seven of them piled out of the streetcar in front of the General's mansion, only to be greeted by a skinny Galbadian soldier.

"General Caraway's mansion is right through this gate, but I can't just let you all walk in."

Rinoa pushed her way to the front of the group, pulling herself up to her full height. "What about me? Is he going to keep _me_ out, too?" She was in full-on princess mode, furious and a little haughty. _Sexy, Rin. And scary to anyone without a spine. My favorite combination. _Seifer stepped back and let her handle the grunt.

The soldier raised his hands defensively. "O-of course not, Miss Rinoa, but I was ordered not to let your...friends through until their skills have been tested. If you'd like to come inside and wait for their return, I'm sure the General would be pleased to see you again."

"No thanks. What little game is he playing this time?" Rin flipped her hair and settled her hands against her hips, still glaring.

"Ah...there was a student from Galbadia Garden yesterday that went to the Tomb of the Unknown King. He has not returned. I was instructed to tell the SeeDs to find what traces of him you can, and bring back his ID number as proof that you ventured inside."

"So there's some poor guy who's either lost in the tomb or dead, and you want us to just find 'traces' of him? Why hasn't a rescue party been sent?"

"Ah...we did recover his body earlier today, but his weapon – and the ID number engraved on it – are near the entrance of the tomb. Ma'am. General Caraway thought –"

"You have no idea how much I don't want to hear about what _that man_ thought. Someone _died_ on one of his little errands, and he doesn't even care! This is completely ridiculous!"

The rest of the group was just staring at Rinoa in various degrees of shock. Seifer reached out and looped an arm around her shoulders, steering her away from the soldier. "C'mon, Rin. We have to talk to him and get this mission over with, so we may as well head on out. Then you can bitch him out in person, with me to back you up."

She sighed, and all the fight went out of her. "Fine. Let's go."

The soldier cleared his throat awkwardly. "I have a map for you. Here." Quistis took it and tucked it into a pocket, nodding at the man. "Go northwest from the city to the Gotland Peninsula, it's hard to miss."

Seifer waved his free hand at the group. "Move out, people."

The tomb was rather impressive, even with the grass growing through the cobblestones, as well as being really old. _Though being powerful enough to have this kind of monument to my life and deeds, and then being forgotten...that's almost as bad as never having any power at all. _Seifer kicked a random loose cobblestone and walked into the tomb.

It should have been pitch black inside, but cracks in the ceiling let in enough light to manuever by. Raijin was the one who caught the light glinting off the abandoned blade not far from the entrance. He picked it up and announced the ID number – 467. Seifer nodded and committed it to memory.

"Alright, let's head back to Caraway's."

The group started to head back to the entrance, but Selphie planted her feet. "Heeeey! We're already here, why don't we explore a little?" She tilted her head and smiled. "Place like this is bound to have a lot of interesting stuff in it!"

Kinneas grinned at her. "Sounds like fun!"

Quistis sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "We don't have time. We need to get back and talk to the General." She was using her Instructor voice, and heaing it made Seifer want to side with Selphie, against his better judgment.

Selphie seemed to realize this, since she leaned over in Seifer's direction and said, "C'mon, what are you, scared? Let's go!"

_Oh, like I'm getting shown up by a tiny girl and an idiot in a cowboy hat. _"Fine. We'll explore the tomb – the rest of you are free to stay outside at the entrance. If we're not back in an hour, come get us."

Trepe rolled her eyes, threw her hands up in the air, and walked out. Rin followed her with a "have fun!" tossed over her shoulder. Fujin and Raijin both looked at Seifer for direction, though Raijin's eyes kept flicking around at the gloomy surroundings.

"Rai, keep the ladies company. Fu, you come with us." He cracked his knuckles and stared at Irvine. "You're the weak link here, since you don't have a GF. Don't slow us down."

"I won't." He jerked his chin up and plastered on a cocky smile, shouldering his shotgun. He might have fooled anyone else, but Seifer could see the nervousness under the bravado. _Well, if you have to be a pansy, at least it's good that you're not acting like one._

"Good. Selphie, lead the way – but if you get us lost, there'll be hell to pay."

She grinned. "I had a look at the map on the way. As long as we always turn right, we should be able to visit all the outer rooms and find our way back here no problem!" Without waiting for a response, she skipped off, leaving the other three to follow in her entirely-too-cheerful wake.

It was easy to see why people could get lost in the tomb – all the corridors looked exactly the same. The only thing that changed was when they entered the first offshoot room, and came face-to-face with a minotaur statue...that promptly roared at them and attacked.

_The fuck? Is that a GUARDIAN FORCE?_ Seifer snapped Hyperion from its sheath and brandished it at the mace-wielding beastman. A shot echoed in the small space, and the minotaur reared back in pain, but the bullet almost immediately pushed itself back out of the healing wound. _Regen? I didn't see it cast anything. _"Selphie! Scan it, now!" He charged the enemy and scored a deep gash against its right leg, but it too closed up – though not completely – seconds later.

"Got it! It heals as long as it's on the ground, and it's weak to wind!" Selphie followed up with an Aero spell that only seemed to piss it off, but Seifer stepped back and grinned.

"Fu! You're up! Get that thing airborne, _now_!"

"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin stepped forward and cast a spell that suspended the minotaur in the air, and then blasted it with rapid-fire Aero spells, finishing with a Tornado that whipped the GF around and into the wall behind them. It staggered drunkenly to its feet, muttered "They're pretty strong" and took off down the hallway.

"Good job, Fu." Seifer slapped her on the shoulder and grinned. When it came to wind magic, Fujin was the best Balamb Garden had ever seen, thanks to the wind GF that she kept locked inside her head. She'd had it since she transferred from Galbadia Garden – it was her refusal to give it up that got her moved to Balamb in the first place.

Selphie flailed a hand around until she got everyone's attention. "Heeey, doesn't this pedestal seem taller to you guys?"

Kinneas smirked. "It must be some sort of switch that the minotaur was keeping depressed. I bet we'll find something good deeper in the the tomb." He acted like he had figured out some complex riddle, and Seifer felt like punching him again. He shot a look at Fu, and she nodded, then walked over and kicked Kinneas in the shin. His yelp was decidedly unmasculine, and Seifer chuckled.

Selphie just shook her head and darted out of the room and down the corridor.

A few more fights with giant blobs of physically-resistant gunk and a couple of right turns spit the four of them out in a room with a gate holding back a large amount of water. The rusted chain damn near disintegrated when Selphie grabbed it, and water began pouring through the open gate into a drain in the floor. Selphie clapped her hands excitedly, grinned, and ran off again. When they got to the third outside room and found only a waterwheel, Seifer ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "So what now? We've been all the way through this place, tripping switches and shit, but haven't seen anything worthwhile, aside from the minotaur GF. Which ran away like a little bitch."

Selphie gestured for Irvine to pull a lever next to the waterwheel, and then turned to Seifer. "Don't you see? We've been everywhere along the outer ring...but we haven't been to the center chamber yet! It's blocked off by water on the map, but I'll bet these switches lowered the water level or something. We'll run back to the entrance until we see the sword that we came in for, then turn around and go straight in to the center. Then if we don't find anything, you can yell at me." She tossed him a sunny smile and then took off down the hall.

Kinneas straightened from where he crouched by the lever, and sent a completely googly-eyed look at Selphie's retreating form. "Isn't she just great?"

Fujin crossed her arms and snorted. "CRAZY."

"Which one?"

"BOTH."

"You got _that_ right, Fu. Let's go see what the messenger girl finds."

The tomb itself was a tiny building on a tiny island, linked to the outer structure by an ancient drawbridge. Inside, the minotaur they'd defeated earlier was hunkered down on an ornate coffin, snarling. The group readied their weapons, but then the minotaur started yelling about his "bro" and another, miniature minotaur appeared in front of them.

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Really? That's all you've got? Fu, handle this. Everyone focus fire on the big one, we already know he's a pansy."

Fujin rolled a shoulder and nodded, floating both minotaur off the ground. Selphie delved into her small stock of Aero spells, chaining them together with ruthless efficiency, and Kinneas peppered the larger floating minotaur with bullets. Seifer rushed in, but took a spiked mace to the thigh for his troubles, courtesy of the tiny minotaur. He crumpled, pain radiating from his leg, and when he looked up, the smaller brother had his mace pulled back for another hit, this time on a level with Seifer's face.

Seifer threw himself backward, the mace screaming through the air right in front of his nose. Suddenly, a large form was between him and the minotaur brothers, pumping shot after shot, as Tilmitt laid a hand on his leg and cast a few Cure spells.

"GET BACK." Seifer glanced back to see Fujin just staring at their enemies, barely moving. _Oh shit. _He scrambled to his feet and hobbled backwards, taking Selphie with him, yelling for Kinneas to move his ass if he didn't want to lose it. _Shit shit shit, this place is way too goddamn small for Pandemona, Fu! _He drug Selphie into a corner of the room and pulled her down into a crouch with him, ignoring her struggles and questions.

An enormous tornado kicked up around Fujin's body, flinging rocks and debris everywhere but leaving her untouched. A hulking purple form descended down through the eye of the tornado, landing right in front of her. Kinneas took one look at it and started to haul ass, but he was still too close. Pandemona sucked almost all the air out of the room and into the bag on its shoulder, the two minotaur compressed and dragged in, as well. Seifer and Selphie gasped for breath in the sudden vaccuum. Kinneas had managed to flatten himself against the ground, but they could see the struggle it took for him to keep from flying off. The wind GF stood there for a moment, bag of winds swollen with air, and then it discharged everything it had drawn into itself in one giant twister. The two minotaur crashed against the ground, the larger laying broken against the floor. The little one regained its footing with some difficulty, and surveyed the battlefield.

Seifer and the messenger girl were still fighting to catch their breath, and Fujin sagged and almost crumpled to the ground. Kinneas was groaning on the ground, but somehow managed to pull himself into a crouch. He levered his shotgun up and aimed it at the charging minotaur, firing off shot after shot with both speed and accuracy. _Best marksman in Galbadia Garden – guess that wasn't all talk, after all. _The minotaur collapsed a foot away from Kinneas, groaning and twitching. The larger one hauled himself to his feet and shambled over, pulling his brother up, as well. The smaller minotaur looked up at Kinneas and Fujin and bowed his head. "Mighty ones...may we join you?"

Fu waved her hand at Kinneas. "HIM."

"Wait, what?" Irvine blinked in surprise and then grabbed his head in pain as the minotaur brothers faded out of sight.

Selphie extricated herself from the pile she and Seifer were in, and half-ran, half-stumbled over to Kinneas's shuddering form, wrapping him in a hug.

The huge coffin in the center of the room slowly levered itself open, a glowing form rising out of it. "You are quite the powerful ones to have defeated the two brothers. Thanks to you, I am now free of this cramped stone coffin. ...However, there is something I have been thinking of for a very long time. Is it really necessary to entomb those traveling to the other world, after such a long and tiring journey through life?"_ Uh...okay? I guess not? What the fuck?_

He disappeared in a bright flash of light, leaving Seifer in a room with a group that was exhausted, injured, and/or nursing the pain of having a mystical being suddenly shove itself in his head. _I don't envy the guy, starting out with something that powerful much more powerful than Shiva or Quezacotl...but if Fu can handle Pandemona without burning out her brain, Kinneas can handle those two._

He walked over to Fu, still favoring his leg a little, and pulled her up. Summoning always took a lot out of her – Pandemona was honestly supposed to be too strong for her to be able to control. None of the GF experts at the Garden could figure out why she could even call on it, much less why it liked her so damn much. Seifer shrugged. _Saved our asses this time, though. Even if I'm pretty sure it did about as much damage to us at the minotaur would have. _

"Hey Selphie, are you and the cowboy alright?"

She nodded and slung one of Kinneas's arms over her tiny shoulders, letting him lean on her. The tall man was still groaning in pain, but seemed to be supporting most of his own weight. He'd lost his hat in the windstorm – Seifer spotted it on the ground, picked it up, and put it back on Kinneas's head. He shouldered Hyperion and walked out of the central tomb, sighing. "Stay close to me, I'll take care of the monsters."

Fortunately, most of them seemed to have lost their bravery, and Seifer only had to dispatch a few weak Buels on the way back. Quistis, Rinoa, and Raijin were waiting for them in the entrance.

The blonde woman's eyes widened as she took in their sorry state. "What on earth _happened_ in there?"

Seifer groaned and slumped to the cobblestones, squinting against the fading daylight. "Earth GF. We got it, but Fu damn near suffocated us all in the process."

Fujin grinned. "AWESOME."

He grinned back. "Yeah, yeah, it was pretty fucking awesome."

Rinoa glanced at Irvine, whom Selphie had transferred over to Raijin's shoulder. "What wrong with him?"

"GF barged its way into his brain. He'll be okay after some rest. Which reminds me, we're putting off the trip to see Caraway until the morning."

Trepe flung her hands into the air. "This is ridiculous, if the four of you hadn't gone running off like that-"

"We'd still have a member of the party without GF support. Isn't that one of our main rules, Instructor? Never go into a mission without junctions? Well, now we don't have to. Quit your bitching and let's get back to Deling City."

She glared at him, but stomped back off to the rental car without a word. Seifer pulled himself back to his feet and followed her, the others not far behind.

Selphie caught his sleeve as he was about to get into the car. "Isn't it weird that all that ghost had to say to us was how much it hated being locked in a tomb? And if he's a ghost, why didn't he just pass through the coffin or something?"

"Isn't it weird that there was a ghost there in the first place? Hyne, Tilmitt, I don't fucking know." He ran his hand through his hair. "Obviously the minotaur GF was guarding something in there...at first glance it looked like if was keeping people out, but maybe it was supposed to keep the king's soul or whatever inside."

She tilted her head and thought about that for a minute. "Then what if we've released some sort of ancient evil on the world?"

"Then there's not much we can do about now, is there? If it comes up later, we'll kick its ass, but for now, get in the damn car so we can get some sleep."


	5. The Stage is Set

Chapter 5 – The Stage is Set

Caraway's mansion was every bit as fancy as Seifer imagined, and it was easy to see where Rinoa's girly taste in curtains had invaded the entire place, even the General's own office. _Man must completely adore the girl if he let her decorate every goddamn room in the place... and then left it that way after she ran away. _The group had been led to the General's office and told to wait, but that was almost a half an hour ago, and they were all getting impatient.

Rinoa finally bounced out of her chair, a bundle of nervous energy that had slowly morphed into righteous fury as they waited. "He's always doing this... So discourteous, making people wait! I'm gonna go complain, everyone just wait here." She walked out, throwing over her shoulder, "Oh, by the way, this is my house."

Seifer watched the expressions of the rest of the group – Trepe nodded like the statement had only confirmed her expectations, Kinneas just raised his eyebrows, Fujin shrugged and and kicked Raijin when it looked like he was going to start yelling in shock. Tilmitt was too busy looking out the window to react at all, but based on previous observations, Seifer thought she'd probably worked it out alright, too. _Pretty easy to figure out, after yesterday's little show with the guard... Good to see some proof that I'm not working with complete idiots, here. Except Raijin, but that's to be expected. _

The door creaked open a few moments later, and instead of Rinoa, General Caraway finally walked in.

Seifer settled his weight against the edge of the table. "Just waiting for Rin to leave so you could lock her out?"

"I have no desire to involve my daughter in something this dangerous."

Seifer shrugged. "She's still our client. As soon as this mission is over, she's coming with us, whether you like it or not."

Caraway narrowed his eyes – the man probably wasn't used to being threatened in his own home – but nodded stiffly. "Of course. Rinoa is free to do as she pleases, even if it involves directly undermining me at every juncture. But this business with the sorceress..." The general frowned. "I had hoped that Balamb and Galbadia Gardens would send a more experienced team, rather than a group of children."

Kinneas, casually kicked back behind Caraway's own desk, waved a hand in dismissal. "Did you want the best or not, General? Because we're it." With one fluid movement, he vaulted over the desk and settled back against it. "We're here to knock off the sorceress, right? So let's get to it."

Again, Seifer heard the slight waver of false bravado in his voice – not about being the best, but about killing the sorceress. _Having doubts, Kinneas? Doesn't matter, I can handle this mission even if you can't._

Caraway waved them out the door, and explained the plan as they walked the streets of Deling City. Seifer did his best to devote his full attention to the debriefing, but the moment that Caraway had mentioned the sorceress's name – Edea – he felt like he was missing something important. Something he'd forgotten. He did his best to shake it off.

The plan revolved around the evening's celebration of the Sorceress Edea's alliance with Galbadia, and divided the group into two teams, gateway and sniper. It sounded so damn simple. Wait until the parade float the Sorceress was on passes through the Arch at the center of the city, trap her inside, and shoot her. _This is a sorceress we're talking about, though. I doubt it'll be that easy. No point in arguing, though – maybe we'll get lucky and it'll work._

After a few hours of free time – Seifer spent his upgrading his gunblade, and he'd seen some of the others out shopping for items – the squad regrouped back at Caraway's mansion for the start of the mission. Seifer didn't catch so much as a glimpse of Rinoa, and made a mental note to come straight back here after Edea was dead and turn the place upside down looking for her. No doubt she'd be pissed that he'd left her here for so long.

As soon as they arrived, Caraway went into more detail about the teams. The sniper team was also the assault team, should Kinneas miss, and the gateway team had a critical non-combat role. Seifer started mentally sorting through the known strengths and weaknesses of his squad. _Kinneas and I will be on the sniper team, obviously, and we should have one other person as backup, preferably magical backup. That leaves either Trepe or Tilmitt. Fu and Rai can manage the gateway position, but neither of them can handle a leadership position very well. So, again, that leaves either Trepe or Tilmitt. Quistis is shit at leading under pressure. She may fool everyone else, but I know her better than that. Good backup in a fight, though. That leaves Selphie in charge of the gateway – crazy and inexperienced though she may be, she can do it. Plus, having her out of the way means Kinneas is less distracted._

Seifer cracked his knuckles and grinned. "I'm leading the operation. Kinneas, Trepe, you're with me. Tilmitt, you're in charge of the gateway. My posse will support you. Get it done, messenger girl."

Selphie snapped off a regulation-perfect salute and smiled, bright as the sun. "Have fun assassinating the sorceress, Mr. Leader!"

He chuckled and waved at her over his shoulder. Quistis was frowning at him out of the corner of his eye, but ignored her and walked out of the room. _She'll get over it._

She caught up with him by the time they were walking out the mansion's door. "Tilmitt, though a capable SeeD, doesn't have any leadership experience. I do."

"You questioning your leader's judgment?"

Trepe quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't rise to the bait. "I'd just like to hear your reasoning, is all."

"Hyne, Trepe, it's dropping a gate at the right moment. It's _easy, _leadership position or no. Tilmitt will handle it, and even if she couldn't for some fucked up reason, Fu and Rai will. I brought you with me because you also have more combat experience, which is a little bit more important at this point."

"Directly assaulting the sorceress is only a last resort option. We shouldn't be needed at all." She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind an ear, tilting her head in Kinneas's direction.

_Yeah, well, we'll see about that._

The sniper flung his hands out to the side and grinned. "You guys just get to watch me in action. Best seats in the house." Silence hung over the group for a few moments, before Kinneas cleared his throat and spoke again, "So like... Is it true that SeeDs aren't supposed to question their mission?"

Seifer shrugged. "Sure, if you want to go through life as a drone who only takes orders. To be a decent leader, you need to be able to make judgment calls and be creative. Sometimes that means asking questions, and sometimes that means doing what you need to, even if the orders say otherwise. To some people, rules are rules. To people like me, they're more like guidelines."

"You got pretty pissy at the lovely Miss Trepe here for asking you a question just a minute ago, though. Kinda hypocritical of you." Kinneas was grinning when Seifer shot him a glare.

"That's because she's not in charge. I am."

"Funny, because it sure seemed like the higher-ups at Garden were in charge of this little expedition. Which would make you a follower."

_For now. _Seifer was saved having to teach Kinneas a lesson in manners that would have been detrimental to his sniping ability when Quistis sighed and said, "That's enough, both of you. We have a mission to do."

They made it to the arch and watched two thirds of the gateway team head inside. Caraway waylaid Selphie for a moment. "There is an emergency exit to the sewers inside. Use it if escaping becomes too dangerous."

Tilmitt curled her nose. "Uh, thanks, but I think we'll take our chances with the soldiers." She turned to Seifer, and screwed up her face like she wanted to tell him something, bouncing on her toes. Then she abruptly shook her head, smiled, and wished them all good luck before heading inside. _Weirdest girl on the planet, that one. I wonder what she wanted to say? ...Hope it wasn't a declaration of love or something. Eh, I'll get it out of her after this is over._

Seifer and his team took up their positions in the crowd in front of the Presidential Residence, and waited as President Deling made a small speech, then introduced his new ambassador to the crowd. Seifer watched in awe as the sorceress Edea emerged from inside the building. The red beak-like visor that had covered her face was gone, exposing features that were both exotic and strangely familiar. She was beautiful, poised, regal, dramatic, mysterious. She was everything Seifer had ever dreamed of a sorceress being, and he knew that he would have gone with her in a heartbeat, if only she'd asked. It was only the memory of being passed over in favor of Zell that kept him focused on the fact that she had to die tonight.

Kinneas grabbed Seifer's shoulder and jerked him out of his thoughts, redirecting his attention to a blue-clad girl swaying unsteadily behind the sorceress. _Wait, Rin? What in Hyne's name is she _doing? _She doesn't look normal..._

The sorceress opened her mouth, and the world just faded away. "...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler."

The words made no sense, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but her voice, the fact that she was speaking to _him_, that there were thousands of people around but he alone had her attention. Seifer could feel himself tingling with excitement, could feel the ecstasy of the crowd pressing in against him from all sides, both inside and out. Diablos roared inside his head, and the thrill faded enough for Seifer to jerk his eyes away from the black-clad woman at the podium. _Fuck, is she manipulating the crowd? _His mind shied away from the fact that he had almost fallen prey to her manipulation as well. Seifer glanced around and saw nothing but devotion on every face around him, except Trepe and Kinneas, who looked every bit as confused as he felt. He grabbed Quistis and shook her until she looked at him, her blue eyes cloudy but clearing quickly. Kinneas seemed to be shaking it off alright by himself, so Seifer turned back to the podium just in time for Edea to spear President Deling through the chest with her hand.

"Holy shit!" Kinneas was nearly inaudible over the gleeful shrieks of the crowd, but it looked like only their team was shocked by the witch's action – everyone else was whipped into a frenzy of bloodlust.

The president was slowly comsumed by violet fire, and the sorceress laughed. "This is reality. No one can help you. So sit back and enjoy the show."

This time, Seifer could recognize the threat inherent in the words. She had reached inside the minds of all the people present, and twisted until they were as broken as Deling's body, flung into a corner to smolder.

The sorceress disappeared back inside the Presidential Residence, leaving Rinoa, vacant-eyed and swaying, on the balcony. Only a few moments later, a pair of monsters that looked like the unholy offspring of an iguana and a lion bounded through the crowd and up onto the balcony. _They're going after Rin. ...No fucking way is that happening. Not a chance in hell._ Seifer started to shove towards the gate – still closed – when Trepe planted herself in front of him.

"We have to wait until the parade starts, or the entire mission could be jeopardized. Wait until the float leaves the residence, _then_ we can save Rinoa without possibly revealing ourselves to the sorceress!"

Seifer did his best to shove her out of his way, but between the press of the crowd and the firmness of her stance, she wouldn't budge. "You've got to be fucking _kidding_ me! To hell with the mission, we can't just let her die like that!"

Quistis poked him once in the chest, hard. "And what use do you think we'll be if we're dead? Because if we barge in there and the sorceress finds us, we _will_ die. Even you can't deny that, not after what she's done here."

He opened his mouth to tell her exactly where she could shove her doom-and-gloom prophecies, because she might be having doubts but he sure as hell wasn't, when Kinneas yelled at them both to shut it, because the parade was starting anyways.

The parade was extravagant, with weirdly-dressed dancers and an expensive float, but it was who was with Edea on the float that caught Seifer's attention. _...The chickenwuss. Goddamned perfect. _

The spiky haired blond was standing at parade rest next to Edea's throne, clearly standing guard. _Of course he is. He's her knight. The little fucker. _Seifer watched the float move down the road, then sprinted towards the open gates of the Presidential Residence, Trepe and Kinneas hard on his heels. The crowd seemed more interested in worshipping the ground Edea was passing over, so they made it in without incident.

He vaulted up over boxes stacked on the ground next to a truck, into the truck bed, and then up onto the building's first story roof without slowing. From there they took a ladder up to the balcony, and Seifer unsheathed Hyperion, expecting to see Rinoa under attack by the lizard-lion monsters, but instead there was a trail of yellow-green blood into the residence proper. _Rin's fighting, then. That's my girl, just hold on a little longer..._

The hatch to the clock tower was on their way, and Seifer yelled over his shoulder, "Kinneas, get in position for the mission! Trepe, you're with me!"

He didn't stop to see if the sharpshooter had obeyed his orders, and burst into the curtained room where Rin was huddled up against a wall, blaster edge wavering between the two monsters that were stalking towards her.

Hyperion came arcing up in a diagonal slash, catching one lizard-lion across the haunches. Seifer distantly registered the crack of Quistis's whip off to his right as she distracted the other. The iguion whirled and slashed at him with its wicked-sharp claws, but Seifer dodged right and it caught nothing but air. Reaching for a fire spell, he concentrated on the sensation of heat building in his hand, then flung it out towards the monster, only to bounce off an invisible shield and back at its caster, catching his sleeve on fire.

"Shit! Trepe, these things have a reflect shield!" He lunged forward and struck again, but Hyperion skittered off the armored plates of its iguana-like front half. _Have to get around behind it..._

The resonant noise of dispel magic echoed in the room, and then the crystalline shattering of an ice spell, but the cry of pain that followed was human, not animal. Seifer risked a glance over to Quistis, who was shaking off the numbness of her own magic with some difficulty. It was at that point that the iguion reared back and breathed magma at her. The molten rock flowed across the ground, pooling around her boots and slowly creeping up her ankles. _Shitshitshit petrify magic shit!_ Seifer abandoned his own monster, throwing Trepe a remedy and dragging Hyperion, sparking and shrieking, up the length of her lizard-lion. It screamed and lunged towards a still-rooted Quistis, snapping at her as she downed the remedy and dodged clumsily out of the way, boots crusted with half-cooled lava.

Blue draw orbs bloomed into existence around the iguion, and streamed, not towards Quistis, but towards the back of the room, where Rinoa had been huddled. Not stopping to check on Rin – if she could draw, she was fine – Seifer planted the point of his gunblade in the back of the injured iguion in front of him, pushing until he hit the thing's spine. He pulled the trigger until he felt vertebrae give under the vibration, and the monster fell twitching to floor.

The smell of ozone hit Seifer's nostrils as lightning cracked towards the remaining iguion, stalking towards Rinoa. Instead of the lightning bouncing harmlessly away as he expected, it struck the monster square in the snout, making it cringe back and hiss in pain. Seifer took the opportunity to position himself between the lizard-lion and Rinoa, blocking its strikes while Quistis knocked it on its ass with several rapid-cast blizzara spells. Finally it, too, slumped to the ground, quickly-melting spikes of ice still lodged in its legs and back.

Lowering Hyperion, Seifer turned to the woman huddled behind him, shaking with fear and blood loss. She had several nasty gauges on her arms and legs that had mostly stopped bleeding, but he pulled out one of the few hi-potions he had on him and gave it to her anyways.

The empty bottle tumbled out of Rinoa's hands as she threw her arms around Seifer's neck, burying her face in his chest. "I was so scared... Thank you..."

He briefly returned the hug, then stepped back and let his hands rest on her shoulders. "Hyne, Rin, what the hell are you even _doing _here?"

"I... I thought I could help. I tried to trick the sorceress into putting on a bracelet that would seal her powers, but then she did something to me, and I couldn't control my body anymore. I'm sorry – Selphie told me it was a stupid idea, but I did it anyways."

_That must have been what she was making that face about earlier, about whether to tell me about Rin's plan or not. She must have decided that the mission came first._ He shook his head. _Dammit Rin, this is why I didn't want you involved in the first place. _"Well, c'mon, nothing we can do about it now. Just stay close to me, alright?"

Seifer looked over at Quistis, who was leaning against a wall, picking at her rock-encrusted boots. _No visible injuries – she must have healed them already. Good. _"How are we on time?"

She glanced up and nodded. "Only a few minutes left. We'd better get into position." She shot a look at Rinoa that promised the women would be having Words later about interefering in SeeD missions, but held the lecture for the moment, only asking, "How did you drop the reflect field?"

Rinoa looked up from where she was scrubbing dried blood off of her newly-healed arms. "Oh... I went to draw some healing magic from one, and felt something else in there, something powerful, so I drew it instead. It's a GF... Carbuncle, I think. Seems to like support magic."

Quistis just shook her head and walked out, probably irritated that she didn't think of that possibility.

Seifer looped an arm around Rin's shoulders, guided her out into the hallway and down into the clock tower hatch where Kinneas was waiting for them, pacing anxiously.

"Are you guys all okay?" He addressed the group, but his eyes were pretty solidly fixed on Rinoa.

Seifer snapped his fingers in front of the cowboy's face. "Get with it, Kinneas. Show's about to start."

The sharpshooter's skin went a little pale, but he nodded and picked up the rifle stashed in the corner, then walked around to the other side of the carousel clock and sank to the floor, gun cradled between his knees.

_He's not going to do it. The bravado's all gone, just like I thought – he's scared shitless. Good thing I'm here to pick up the slack, then... As well as the glory._ Seifer shook his head. _Figures that I gotta do all the work._

He watched as Quistis and Rin settled down near each other and began to have a quiet conversation – a lecture, most likely, coming from Trepe, but Rinoa seemed to be taking it well enough. She was smart enough to know when she'd fucked up. Seifer shrugged and walked over to where Kinneas was shaking on the floor. "Quit freaking out. I'll make the charge, all you have to do is be behind me and back me up, got it?"

He slowly looked up, eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. "I can't do it. The pressure, it's too much..."

"No shit, I can see that, I'm not blind. You've been faking confidence this whole damn time, Kinneas, don't think that I didn't notice. All I need from you is your shotgun, covering my ass as I charge the float. I can handle the rest."

Kinneas slowly relaxed, naked relief in his eyes, just in time for the carousel clock to shudder to life. Seifer dropped into a crouch and watched for the right moment as the platform rose up into the night air. The parade float with Edea on it was just passing through the Arch, the portcullises clanging into place on either side. _Good job, messenger girl. Right on time._

Quistis and Rinoa crouched behind him, and Seifer could tell that Trepe was about to launch into a million questions on why Kinneas wasn't shooting the goddamned sorceress yet, but Seifer just shook his head and held up a hand. "Time to put that reflect GF of yours to the test, Rin. You're on support duty. Trepe, you handle offensive magic. Kinneas, keep an eye on Rin, and make sure no one else interferes in the mission. Oh – and Dincht's _mine_." With that, he bailed off the carousel clock and down into the street below, scattering soldiers and the rioting crowd with a few sweeps of Hyperion.

A car was parked not ten feet away, idling but empty, and Seifer threw himself into it and slammed down the gas, heedless of the people barely flinging themselves out of his way. He twisted the vehicle sideways and let it screech to a stop against the front portcullis of the arch, jumping out and through the bars to the parade float. He settled Hyperion on his shoulder and stared up at the sorceress, still lounging on her throne. The chickenwuss was kneeling next to her, like a collared dog, and Seifer felt a brief spike of disgust. _I would never have groveled like that._

Zell pushed himself up to his full height, staring at Seifer with a cold, blank stare that was completely unlike any expression he'd ever worn before. All the passion and energy he'd previously exploded with had been focused, honed and sharpened.

"Looks like it takes a sorceress to make a man out of you, chickenwuss. I'm almost impressed."

The blond martial artist just shook his head. "Save it, Seifer." Then he charged, lightning quick, fist snapping into Seifer's stomach, driving the wind out of him.

_Fuck, he's fast!_ He tried to dodge back out of Dincht's reach, to get to a position where he could more effectively bring Hyperion to bear, but the chickenwuss was always _right there_, throwing mean hooks and quick jabs that hurt like a bitch. All the while the sorceress watched, smirking – there was a fraction of Seifer's attention that was devoted to her, would always be devoted to her.

Finally, Seifer saw his opening – he sidestepped a right haymaker that might have laid him out then and there, and channeled a fire spell right into the palm of his hand, launching it directly at Dincht's face from point-blank range. The kid stumbled back, coughing and rubbing at his eyes, and Seifer pressed his newfound advantage. His gunblade came up, and now he was on the offensive with surprisingly quick strikes. Step into range, slash, step back out – at no point did he stay close enough for Dincht to get in another hit, especially once he slowed, blood streaming from cuts on his arms and torso.

Seifer had Hyperion drawn back, ready for the deathblow, when Edea stood and held out a hand. The gunblade shrieked across an invisible barrier, and Dincht fell back, sinking to his knees. The sorceress pinned Seifer to the ground with her gaze, glowing golden and catlike in the reflected light of the parade.

"A SeeD. Planted in a run-down Garden." She raised a hand and beckoned with long, talon-like fingers. "Come, allow me to rip out your roots."

Seifer slid back into a ready stance, entire body braced and shaking, when a clatter of footsteps sounded behind him. Quistis and Rinoa flanked him to either side, and Kinneas took up position behind him, firing shots at the Galbadian soldiers that were swarming the float. The blond man grinned.

"What took you all so damned long?"

Trepe unfurled her whip with a snap. "You said you wanted Zell to yourself. We were just waiting for you to finish up. Not our fault you were having trouble."

Seifer snorted and rolled his shoulder, sighting down Hyperion's blade. The witch spread her hands and brought them together, pink and blue translucent shields encasing her in protective magic. Quistis launched several rapid-fire blizzard spells at Edea, but the chunks of ice glanced harmlessly off the anti-magic shell.

The sorceress just stood there, smiling and unmoving, save for the wind blowing at the odd cape-like thing on her back. She had her head cocked to one side, as if she was waiting for something.

Seifer charged her, swinging Hyperion in a diagonal slash that should have cut her neatly in half, protect spell or no, but she raised a hand and flicked out her fingers, and Seifer stumbled a little as a wave of force caught him in the arm. His gunblade swung wide and slid sideways against the invisible blue bubble, leaving him exposed. The sorceress raised one hand into the air, and an enormous bolt of lightning came cracking down from the clear sky.

Every nerve ending was on fire, with electricity arcing and snapping between every cell in his body. Seifer let out an agonised scream that he could barely hear over the thunder echoing in his damaged eardrums, and his heart spasmed, hard. He would have sunk to the floor, had it not been for the small hand pressing against his back, funneling the strength of a cura spell directly into his body. Trepe helped him stagger backwards a few feet, and Seifer watched as a hole opened in the floor of the parade float, wondering if the thundaga spell had completely fried his brain.

Green tufted ears and a face that would have looked more at home on a stuffed toy than a GF peered up out of the hole. The magical beast looked around nervously, then leapt out of the ground and sent a beam of light from the ruby on its forehead streaming towards Seifer's team. Yellow-green reflect shields shimmered into existence around each of them. _Fuck, that would have been nice about ten seconds ago, Rin... You know, BEFORE I got fried by a giant fucking lightning bolt?_ He glanced over at her, and Rin must have guessed at what he was thinking, because she threw him an apologetic smile and a potion.

He cracked open the potion and downed it, watching as Quistis threw the strongest spells in her arsenal at Edea – tornadoes, blizzagas, even a flare. The spells barely ruffled the feathers on the sorceress's dress, even after the shell magic had been dispelled.

The witch mostly ignored the blonde SeeD, focusing her efforts on dispelling the reflect shields that protected the group. Rinoa was being forced to chain summon Carbuncle, and the stress was showing on her face, as well as in the longer time gap between each summoning.

Healed but cautious, Seifer moved back onto the front lines, testing the sorceress's defenses with quick hit-and-run attacks, but the wounds he inflicted didn't seem to faze her in the least, even as they streamed blood onto her black dress. It was almost as if she didn't feel the pain at all.

Quistis and Rinoa were slowing, the strain of their own magic and the damage from the occasional unreflected spell taking its toll. Irvine was running out of ammunition but not targets. It was time for some drastic action, or they were going to get their asses handed to them, and Seifer flat refused to let that happen.

He planted his feet and flung out one hand, Ifrit roaring in his head as he threw the strongest fireball he could manage at the sorceress. He began to spin Hyperion around his hand, pouring energy into the blade, but before he could send it flying, blue light coalesced around Edea's feet, extinguishing the flames on her dress. It wrapped around her body and gathered above one raised hand, forming several giant spikes of ice. With a casual flick of her wrist, she launched it at Seifer, who had no time to react, to do anything but watch as it came hurtling towards him.

The largest central spear of ice slammed directly into his right shoulder, flooding his veins with freezing cold. His muscles seized and the force of the spell sent him flying past Irvine, off the parade float. Rinoa's face, and her hand reaching out to him, were the last things he saw before the whole world went black.


	6. Jailed

Chapter 6 – Jailed

Darkness slowly receeded from Seifer's vision, details resolving themselves out of the gloom. _The fuck? Where am I?_ Even turning his head flooded his body with nausea, but he did it anyways, taking in the tiny, cell-like features of his surroundings. He was laying on a small metal shelf that jutted from the wall, and a toilet was anchored to the floor at the other end of the room. Everything was metallic, and a little rusted in places.

"Hyne. This is a fucking prison cell." With a groan, he flopped an arm over his eyes. _Wait, that should have hurt. I took a giant spike of ice in the shoulder._ Rolling his shoulder back, he poked at it for a moment, finding a giant rip in his coat and shirt, but no blood or soreness. _Healed? So, lemme get this straight. I attempted to assassinate Sorceress Edea _– he felt a sinking sensation in his gut at this, as if he had betrayed the very essence of himself, but ignored it – _who murdered the president, and is likely running all of Galbadia by now. She attacked to incapacitate, not kill, and someone healed my wounds. In other words, I'm being kept alive for some reason. _Seifer hauled himself into a sitting position, closing his eyes against the cell rippling and roiling around him. His arms were barely strong enough to hold him upright. _And, it would seem, drugged or concussed or some shit. Fuck. I can't fight like this. _That realization, more than anything, made a hard knot of fear form in his stomach, but it was soon overwhelmed by anger and pride.

Biting back bile, Seifer swung his legs over onto the floor and heaved himself upright, not falling to his knees and puking by sheer force of will.

Suddenly, the entire room shook. Seifer slumped against one wall for support as the wall across from the bunk folded down into a walkway. Light, short footsteps carried a small figure into the cell – Zell Dincht. _Of course. Because I'm clearly trapped in some sort of hell dimension._ Diablos shifted in his thoughts with a dark rumble-laugh. _Oh, fuck you too, you ugly bastard._

The Chickenwuss stood in the doorway with his arms folded, looking at Seifer with a mixture of disgust and pity. The first was fine, but it was seeing the second that made Seifer lunge forward, fist first.

Dincht just caught his fist as it fell, bringing his foot around and cracking it into Seifer's knee. The taller blond half-crumpled, barely catching himself on the edge of the bunk. Zell just shook his head. "Pathetic, Seifer." He jerked his head towards the door. "Take him out."

A pair of furry, red creatures entered the room – _Moombas? Are you fucking _kidding_ me, __Chickenwuss? _– and grabbed Seifer by the arms, ignoring his attempts to struggle. They dragged him out of the cell, but Seifer didn't have a chance to take a look at the prison itself. Stubborn pride wasn't enough to keep him on his feet after so much movement, and his body finally succumbed to the drugs, or the trauma, or whatever. The world tilted drunkenly, went fuzzy, and then dark.

A sharp starburst of pain in his nose brought Seifer back to reality. Blood dripped down his face and was splattered on Dincht's metal-covered glove – whether his nose was broken or just bloodied, Seifer didn't know. He jerked forward with a snarl, but chains locked his arms and legs to the wall behind him.

Zell's voice, calm and steady, cut through the panic that was slowly descending. "What is the meaning of SeeD, Seifer? Edea demands to know."

"Hyne on a fucking pogostick, Chickenwuss! Are you shitting me?"

Dincht frowned, then balled up his fist and slammed it into Seifer's stomach. He grunted in pain, but didn't say anything further.

"I'm serious, Seifer. You were the squad leader, and the Headmaster always favored you – he must have told you something. Something special. And Edea wants to know what that is."

"So you think you can just _beat it out of me_, is that it? Don't make me laugh, you weak little bitch. Even if I did know something, your flyswatting exercises wouldn't be enough to make me give it up."

Zell folded his arms and looked up at Seifer's face, impassive save for the little twitches of frustration at being made fun of, yet again. The new badass Zell was only a mask – inside he was just as easy to jerk around as he'd always been. _The sorceress reached inside the minds of a thousand people in Deling City. What could she do to one spineless little Chickenwuss? _Maybe that was why she'd chosen him over Seifer. Dincht was weak, easy to mold and reforge into exactly the kind of knight that she could want. Seifer, on the other hand, was too strong, too unbreakable, to be anyone's lapdog. His lips curled up in a sneer, and was rewarded with another fist to the gut.

"All the others are prisoners here, too, you know. You got your entire squad captured. I could ask Instructor Trepe my questions, I guess, or Selphie, but I don't really want to hurt them. I'd rather protect them from you." He straightened, and that goody-two-shoes bullshit righteousness practically blazed out of his eyes.

"Is that what this is? Protecting your precious little friends? From _me_? Because from where I'm hanging, you look a hell of a lot more like a torturer than a knight." Seifer squashed a quick flash of fear at the mental image of the messenger girl or the instructor hanging on a wall, at the mercy of Dincht's fists. _Over my dead body, you piece of Marlboro shit. _

"It's nothing you don't deserve. You're a bully, Seifer. You've always been a bully, and that's all you ever _will_ be. If I can just make them all see that, and see that Edea loves us _so much_, that she wants the best for us, then I can convince them to join the right side. We're going to change the world. We're going to _save_ it."

"So it's the evil mercenary versus the great and noble sorceress's knight, huh? Don't make me laugh. You couldn't save a Hyne-damned thing if your life depended on it. I may be a bully, but _you're_ weak, you've always been weak, and that's all _you'll_ ever be. So give it your best shot, _Chickenwuss_, but I guarantee I'll be a red smear on this wall before I tell you shit." Seifer hawked and spat a glob of blood-tinged gunk right in Dincht's eye.

Zell's face screwed itself up in absolute fury, and slammed his fist into Seifer's nose again, the cartilege giving way with a sickening crunch and an explosion of pain.

The next time he came to, dried blood crusted thick on Seifer's face and neck, and his eyes felt puffy and swollen. _Little fucker definitely broke my nose._ He couldn't open his eyes more than a sliver, and the back of his head felt rather soft and pulpy where it had impacted the wall.

A strange masculine voice echoed off to the left. "The missiles are prepared for launch, sir."

Dincht sighed. "The Lady Edea is sad to hear that you're being so stubborn, Seifer. She has no choice now but to destroy SeeD, and the Gardens that produce them. Why can't you just be reasonable? If you'd just tell me what she wants to know, we could show mercy." His voice sounded off, less crusader for justice, more robot following orders.

_Missiles? Destroy...the Gardens? Hyne, that's __**fucked**__._ Seifer couldn't really say that he was overly attached to the place, but slaughtering hundreds of people, a lot of them kids... That was beyond his ability to even process. A small corner of his brain was almost appreciative – it would eliminate most of her opposition in one fell swoop, and send a powerful message to the entire world that Galbadia and its new queen were not to be fucked with.

It would also mean that she, and Dincht, would _win_.

Dincht –

Seifer coughed and cleared his throat. "How...how the fuck is blowing up two schools 'saving the world'? Can't see a bleeding-heart Chickenwuss like you being okay with that."

"I don't _want_ to do this, can't you see? And neither does she. But the Gardens are evil, they want to kill the one woman who can bring peace to this world, just so they can continue to turn a profit. It's sick! They take kids, and they turn them into weapons for their own ends." Desperation cracked through the emotionlessness that had permeated his voice before, and Seifer almost felt bad for the 'wuss. The witch was rewriting his entire worldview, twisting it to suit herself. Zell was breaking under the force of her will.

"But you're a SeeD, you moron. If you had such a problem with it, why did you go through the training yourself?"

"Because I didn't know any better! I was blind to what was right in front of me. But _now_ – now I see." There was a sickening amount of devotion wrapped up in that last sentence. Seifer wanted to puke, and not just because he was pretty fucking sure he had a concussion.

"I'm sorry it had to go this way, but just remember, Seifer – all those lives? They're on _your _hands. Not that that bothers you, I guess. You, over there – continue the interrogation. I want his answer, no matter what it takes."

A soft affirmative sounded somewhere off to the right, followed by footsteps out. _Finally. Now what?_

A crackle and the smell of ozone were the only warnings that Seifer had. Electricity arced through his body, frying nerve endings and arcing along synapses. He slammed his head back against the wall again with the pain, squirming in his bonds, but refusing to scream.

"Tell me what you know! _What is the meaning of SeeD?_"

The lightning stopped, and Seifer sagged in his bonds. He licked his lips and smiled, brain still sizzling with pain. "...Is that it?"

"What was that!?"

"I said, is that it? I thought this was supposed to hurt, not tickle."

The man snarled and threw the lever again, and Seifer's howling, agonized laughter echoed off the walls until everything went dark again.

"Seifer? Can you hear me? You need to hold still, okay?"

_...What? Quistis? How..._

A sharp snarp-crunch and Seifer's nose was, once again, in immense amounts of pain, drowning out the burns on his wrists and ache in his gut. A moment later, the tingling sensation of a potion washed over his face, easing the pain somewhat. A cool hand spread some of the liquid over his eyes, reducing the swelling enough that he could crack them open. He did so, but groaned and immediately shut them against the influx of light.

"I need you to drink this, okay? It should help with your concussion."

A small vial was pressed into Seifer's hand, and, with help, he raised it to his lips and drank. _Tastes weird. X-Potion? Where'd we get one of those, anyways?_

Wherever it came from, it worked, and fast. Seifer could feel the tingling spread throughout his entire body, smoothing over open wounds and easing pains. His nose popped a little – Quistis must not have gotten it set completely right – and he could breathe again.

"Hyne, Trepe. Where have you been all my life? You're a fucking saint." He squinted his eyes open a fraction, the pale blob hovering over him slowly resolving into Quistis's face.

She snorted. "I'll remember you said that, the next time you call me a pain in the ass, since I'm sure you won't."

Seifer smirked, then abruptly shot bolt upright, almost headbutting Quistis in the process. "Fuck! We have a problem. Galbadia's launching an attack on Balamb and Trabia Gardens."

A gasp from elsewhere in the room caught his attention. Tilmitt, who had been standing guard in the doorway of the torture chamber with nunchaku in hand, was staring at him with the most horrified expression that Seifer had ever seen on a person. "Trabia! But – why –"

"Something about destroying all SeeDs, I don't know, Dincht was talking like a madman and I was kind of being tortured at the time. Let's get the fuck out of here, and worry about it then." With some difficulty, he hauled himself to his feet, waving off Quistis's outstretched hand. "Where's everyone else? And how did you guys get here?"

Quistis folded her arms across her chest, worry pinching her eyebrows together, but still holding on to her composure. "Irvine somehow avoided being captured, and General Caraway sent him in to get Rinoa, who then badgered him into coming back and helping her rescue the rest of us." Her tone was almost appreciative, and Seifer thought that Rin might have finally earned herself a few brownie points with the Instructor today. "They're trying to secure an exit route while Selphie and I came in and got you." Reaching down, the blonde woman produced a shining length of steel and handed it to him, hilt-first. "You'll need this – there's an anti-magic field over the prison."

Shouldering Hyperion, Seifer walked out of the torture chamber, squeezing Selphie's shoulder as he passed her. "Don't worry about it, messenger girl. We're not going to let them win, no matter what it takes, got it?"

She nodded at him, her eyes lit up with furious determination. "Definitely."

The three of them went up the nearby flight of stairs with no opposition, into a large circular room where the other half of the squad waited.

At their entrance, Raijin immediately ran over with a yell, wrapping Seifer in a giant bone-crushing hug. "You're alive, ya know!? We were so worried, ya know?"

Groaning under the force of the hug, not to mention the completely unwanted physical contact, Seifer restrained himself – barely – from headbutting Raijin in the temple. "Let me go, you moron!"

Fujin, fortunately, came to the rescue with a well-timed kick to the back of Rai's knee. "IDIOT." She transferred her attention to Seifer, and damn-near smiled, though it probably didn't look like it to the others. "FINE?"

Seifer found himself almost-smiling back at her, the sight as welcome as Quistis had been earlier. "Yeah, I'm alright. You guys all okay?"

Fu nodded sharply, and Raijin straightened up from his knee-favoring, half-crumpled stance. "Rin busted us out, ya know? No thanks to that guy. Rin hadta make him come back for us." He jerked his head over to indicate where Kinneas was fiddling with some controls, Rinoa glowering at him while he did so.

On hearing her name, Rinoa glanced over and favored Seifer with one of her biggest, brightest smiles. "Good to see you're okay. I was really worried when you weren't in the cell with the rest of us. What happened?"

Seifer shook his head. "I can fill you all in on the details later. Right now, we need to get the hell out."

"The exit's right through this door," she waved a hand at the door across the room, "we were just waiting for you."

Flashing her a cocky grin, Seifer swept Hyperion from side-to-side in a few warm-up slashes, then headed for the door, expecting the others to fall in behind him.

The exit led to the open air and a catwalk to another major structure, and was guarded by one of Galbadia's elite soldiers. _I don't give a damn how 'elite' he is – he's one man against seven. Not that I couldn't take him by myself, of course._ Seifer charged him, Hyperion screaming against one metal-covered arm.

The man fell back, stumbling, but managing to press a button on the support strut next to him. An automated voice rang out a warning about prisoners and termination, and then two humanoid drone mechs dropped in from above, separating Seifer from the rest of his team. He dimly registered the crack of Kinneas's shotgun and the whistle of Rinoa's blaster edge behind him, before turning his attention back to the man who'd called them.

Even alone, with stiff muscles and only his gunblade to rely on, a Galbadian soldier wasn't much of a challenge. After a few feints and one lucky strike that made Seifer's left arm go almost completely numb, Hyperion was buried in the soldier's gut. Ripping it out and turning, Seifer saw one of the flying mechs go down, riddled with bullet holes and with its "face" caved in from Raijin's staff. The other was hassling Tilmitt and Quistis, whose weapons were less effective against its armor shell, until Quistis dropped her guard, let it get within striking range, and then _fried it with lasers that came out of her eyes_.

The mech fell smoking and sparking to the ground, two large furrows scored up the entire length of its body. "When the fuck did you learn how to do _that_, Trepe?"

The blonde woman just smirked. "Oh, a couple of years ago."

"Sure, you had to wait until you weren't my sparring partner anymore to learn something actually goddamned useful like that."

Selphie ran over next to Seifer and waved a hand in his face, impatiently. "Can you guys do this later? We have to go, remember?"

Rinoa stepped over to a railing and looked down. "Guys – we have a problem. This...wasn't like this when I came through."

The desert sands, rather than being an arms-length or two away, were far enough below them that Seifer could barely make out the shapes of the dunes. _Fuck. Well, isn't that just fantastic?_

Glancing straight across, Seifer noticed that the opposite support strut was twisted, like a corkscrew, perfect for drilling up and down into sand. "Fucking Galbadians. Alright everybody, we'll find our own damn way out. Move it!" He waved a hand at the catwalk.

The group set off across the walkway, with Seifer pulling up the rear, when a godawful grinding noise echoed through the air, making the entire prison shudder. Behind them, the plates of the catwalk started dropping away, fast.

"Move your asses! _Now_!"

Time seemed to slow as Seifer watched the prison chew into the ever-approaching desert, and all six of his group make it across – Rinoa, then Kinneas, then Tilmitt and Trepe, and finally his posse – but as Seifer himself pushed off against the catwalk to make the final lunge to safety, the metal slipped away so that all that was beneath him was a churning maelstrom of sand. He was left suspended in midair for a half-second that felt like an eternity.

Something as unyielding as iron caught around his wrist as he fell, and Seifer looked up to see Raijin half-dangling off the side of the prison, a surprising ferocity on his normally-stupid face. Fujin knelt next to him, her own hand extended. "SEIFER!"

He heaved himself upward with some difficulty, locking his hand around Fujin's wrist. His posse hauled him up as the place where his legs had been descended into a flesh-stripping sandstorm.

The three of them sprawled on the metal surface of the support as it came to a halt, choking on dust. As the air cleared, Seifer became conscious of the rest of their little group clinging to the railing, all accounted for. _So it was just me who had the near-death experience, yet again. It'd be nice to share those around a little more._ Still, he couldn't deny a quick flicker of relief at their safety.

He pulled himself to his feet with a groan, Fu and Rai doing the same on either side of him. He clapped them both on the shoulder and grinned faintly. "Thanks for the save, guys."

Raijin beamed up at him. "We're your posse, ya know? Besides, you woulda done the same for us, ya know!"

"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin busied herself by tossing the sand out of her hair to avoid anyone seeing her smile.

_Would I have? _Seifer wasn't so sure, and for some reason, that doubt bothered him. Seifer Almasy didn't do doubt and uncertainty – he carved his path forward without ever glancing back, without the time or need for pointless self-analysis. But now the back of his mind was chewing over this idea of sacrificing himself for a member of his posse, and it was goddamn irritating. Of course he wanted them to think he would, but the idea that he actually might had somehow never crossed his mind.

Seifer glanced over and caught Quistis giving him an all-knowing look – though, honestly, Quistis pretty much always looked at everyone like that. _Always acting like she has everyone figured out. Especially me. Guess again, Instructor. _She kept any commentary to herself for once, and just shook her head. "That was way too close, for all of you."

"No shit, Trepe." Seifer and his posse rejoined the rest of the group, which was missing a person. _Wait, where– _

Selphie peeked around the curve of the support strut. "I found some personnel transports. Let's get the heck outta here already!"

_Best idea I've heard all damn day._

The group migrated to where the two vehicles sat, there for the taking, with Selphie already behind the wheel of the bright-ass yellow one. Quistis and Rinoa exchanged a look – _since when are those two on the same page?_ – and headed for the yellow transport, with Quistis throwing a "Want to ride with us, Fujin?" over her shoulder.

Fu smirked and waved at the three remaining (all male) group members before following the other women.

Kinneas looked like he was going to cry, which almost made getting stuck with him worth it. "Uh, hey, ladies...?"

"Let it go, cowboy. They're not interested." Seifer tucked his hands into his pockets and trudged towards the remaining vehicle, too tired to give Irvine the amount of shit he deserved. He made a mental note to use this as ammunition in the future, though.

The two vehicles roared out into the desert, passing over miles of empty dust, miraculously unpursued. When they reached a hard-packed trail, they took it until it split, and Selphie's transport came to a shuddering halt, Selphie herself bouncing out into view. Raijin did the same with Seifer's, and they all piled out to see what the hell was going on _this_ time. "What's up, messenger girl?"

Selphie climbed up on top of a half-buried structure and stomped a foot. "You said that the sorceress is going to launch missiles at Balamb and Trabia Gardens! Don't you think we need to DO something about that!?"

Quistis folded her arms and leaned forward, staring at the ground. "The only thing we can do is get to Balamb Garden and warn the students. Surely the headmaster can contact Trabia."

"We don't know that! What if Galbadia cuts off communications to the Gardens? And we'd never be able to make it there in person. We have to interfere with the launch, stop the missiles somehow!" Selphie's voice was near frantic, but her face was set in a look of ferocity that Seifer had only seen on GFs and a few monsters.

_ She's serious – it doesn't matter what happens, she's going to do this, even if she has to do it alone. _It was almost admirable, that single-minded determination.

"Tilmitt's right. A two-pronged attack gives us the best chance for success. There's a Galbadian missile base not too far from here – we'll send a squad there, and another squad back to Balamb to warn them. If they can get a message out to Trabia, great, but we can't count on that. That's where Tilmitt comes in." Seifer leveled a look at the young woman. "I'm putting you in charge of the missile base team. I'll head up the Balamb squad myself."

The tiny brunette snapped herself into a protocol-perfect salute. "Yes sir!"

Seifer turned and surveyed the other five members of his team, ticking through the merits of one team over the other in his head. _Rinoa is still a civilian, and a client. I can't send her on an infiltration mission into enemy territory. Quistis would be competent in either team, but Galbadia doesn't recruit many women, and she has pull in Balamb Garden. Raijin and Kinneas, though rather stupid, are both native Galbadians, male, and of the right physical build for a typical soldier. Tilmitt is clearly the brain of this operation, and those two should be adequate muscle. Fujin..._ Seifer frowned. The thought of handing over his entire posse to someone else was an unpleasant one, but he couldn't short Tilmitt a squad member when his own team was just acting as a glorified messenger. _Besides, Fu always ranked well in sneaking sims. She's quick, quiet, and can get shit done. Missile base it is. Can't say that I don't feel a little better knowing that Tilmitt has some decent backup, too._

"Rin, Trepe, you two are with me. Tilmitt, you take Kinneas, Fujin, and Raijin with you to the base. Stop those missiles, got it? I'll be expecting you to return my posse to me at Balamb Garden when you make your report."

Selphie flashed him a megawatt smile. "We'll all be careful, so don't worry about us. You take care of yourself, Seifer."

Rin rushed over to throw her arms around Selphie, damn near blubbering, with Quistis close behind her. Kinneas mostly just looked nervous.

Seifer walked over to where his posse stood together. "You guys look out for Tilmitt, got it? Support her like you would me, and make sure Kinneas keeps his ass in line."

They nodded, Fu barking out a sharp "AFFIRMATIVE."

Raijin glanced around and then leaned in, whispering loud enough to be heard by the entire group. "We thought we'd be going with you, ya know? Balamb Garden is our home, too."

"I know. And the way you can best protect it is to help get those missiles stopped. I'm counting on you both." He reached out and clapped them both on the shoulder. "Frankly, I'm a little jealous. You guys get to be the big damn heroes this time."

"Why not come with us? Quisty and Rin can handle a message by themselves, ya know?"

_Not a terrible idea, especially for Raijin. Blowing up a missile base sounds a lot more fun than going back to Balamb Garden. Especially since Cid's gonna want to know what happened with the Chickenwuss, not to mention the assassination mission... _The impulse that was always there seized him, to charge headlong into battle without a thought for duty or the consequences, to do the thing that would bring him the most glory and fame, that would prove to everyone that Seifer Almasy was Not To Be Fucked With. For the first time in his life, he squashed that impulse. "I can't. Rin's my client, my responsibility. And I have a report to make. You guys kick some ass for me, got it?"

Getting nods from them again, Seifer went and found Irvine leaning against the yellow transport, trying for the confident mask he'd worn before the assassination mission. As Seifer walked up, he fumbled and let it drop. "I'm happy to help Selphie, but are you sure this is the best idea? I'm a sniper, not an infiltrator."

"I wouldn't have put you on her team if I didn't think it was a good idea, Kinneas. All you have to do is follow Tilmitt's lead. No one's asking you to do anything more than that." _Just be the good little soldier that Galbadia Garden trained you to be, and you'll be fine._

Selphie had finally resurfaced from the hugs and well-wishes of Seifer's team, so he waved her over. "You got a plan, Tilmitt?"

"We should be able to get inside the base with this vehicle. Quistis found some spare uniforms in the back on our way here – getting in shouldn't be too hard. As for what happens after that, I'm just going to wing it. We'll find some way to stop the missile launch, and then we're gonna blow the place to smithereens!" She punched the air, all confidence and reckless determination. Seifer found himself grinning back at her.

"Sounds like a good plan. Try not to get yourself killed in the process."

Selphie winked at him. "Will do. Try not to flirt with Quistis too much in front of Rinoa, it's really hurting your chances of getting back together with her." Before Seifer could formulate any sort of thought, much less reply, Selphie planted her hands on her hips and yelled, "HEY! Missile base team! We're LEAVING!"

_FLIRT? With TREPE? Hyne, what the fuck is she on?_ Seifer blinked away his confusion and filed the statement under the mental heading of 'Selphie Tilmit is a genuine fucking nutcase' as the missile base team passed him to climb into the yellow personnel transport. Kinneas and Fujin nodded in his direction, while Tilmitt and Raijin waved, the latter so hard that Seifer thought his hand might fall off. Without another word, half of his squad roared out into the desert.

Seifer turned to Rinoa and Quistis, who were standing behind him. "Let's get this done, shall we?"


End file.
